Awaken the Sleeping Princess Within You!
by Cinderella Girl626
Summary: "I want to become the me in my dreams, but I'm weak." As an American in Japan, it's tough fitting in. And with enrollment to Saotome Academy here, our hero is unsure if she can even accomplish anything on her own. Can our novice learn the ways of music, survive classes, and awaken her true self? Will more than just music bloom from her adversity? And with who?
1. The Hardships of Lateness

Hello and welcome to the first chapter of Awaken the Sleeping Princess Within You! My love for Uta no Prince Sama was something I wasn't expecting when I first watched it, and I ended up falling for the show, characters, romance, and music after watching just a few episodes! I had never written a fic about the series, but after watching all of the series so far and leaving off with Revolutions super awesome and crazy cliffhanger, I couldn't sit back and not try and take a swing at writing my own fic.

I don't know how fast updates for the story will be since I'm busy with work and school coming up, but I'll try my best to get those chapters out!

Concerning what the pairing actually is...I don't really know yet! They guys in the shows/game are so nice, but I don't have a concrete idea as to who yet. I'll do my best to add in as much fluffy scenes with all the guys as possible, and sooner or later I guess we can have a poll to find out the rest.

Please review if you liked the chapter and please be kind and considerate to others. X3

Japanese = _"My name is"_

 _Singing = Singing_ (placed in centered format)

* * *

I want to be somewhere where I can shine. A place where I don't have to worry about the past or future, only the present moment I am in. A magical place where I don't feel afraid, nervous, and show my true smile without being forced to.

Does a place like that really exist on Earth?

Because if it does, I've never seen it.

…..And I don't know if I ever will be able to.

* * *

"I know this place is around here somewhere. I looked it up using my phone, but I can't seem to find out which way to go. All of this snow just makes it harder to find streets and landmarks." Walking along the snow covered side walk, the form of a sixteen year old dressed in warm winter clothing of black and blue colors trudged, making sure to move their boots through the snow and not miss a curb or rock in their way.

Their build was small, about petite size in fact, and not much muscle mass could be seen on their 5'0 body. With a caucasian skin tone and heart shaped face, the young girl had dark brown eyes and long blue hair that flowed past their shoulder blades, her bangs ending a bit above her eyes and framing the sides of her face in a neat straightened style.

Taking out the flyer from her pocket, Samantha Kisaragi stared down at the words printed on the flyer, hoping she had perhaps missed some sort of note of instruction on how to get to the location she was heading to.

 **Shining Saotome's School of Music! Applicants who wish to learn the ways of composing music or the dazzling ways of being an idol are welcome! Simply come to Saotome Gakuen during the scheduled testing time and pass the test, and you too can shine like Shining Saotome and join the heavens of music!**

 **Testing Date: January 12** **th** **9:00 A.M.**

 **Location: Shining Academy**

 **Rules: -Must be on time to participate in exam. Lateness will result in cancellation of applicant spot.**

 **-All applicants must be residents of Japan and of Japanese lineage.**

 **-Courses are either idol course exam or composer course exam. Applicants may only choose one.**

"I've read this thing about five times. Of course I wasn't going to find anything different on this flyer the sixth time." Samantha muttered to herself, checking her watch again to check to time. Thankfully it was only 7:34, so she still had another hour and some minutes left to find this academy and get to applying for a test!

"Gotta keep moving! I can't miss this test or I'll never forgive myself...and neither will she." Samantha muttered to herself, her grip on the flyer tightening at an alarming rate before loosening and jamming the flyer into her jacket pocket.

The teen began her journey once more, looking both ways before crossing the street and decided to turn down a corner and go down a street she hadn't tried yet. So far all she could see was houses, some mail boxes, and a few cars passing by. Had she gotten lost in a large neighborhood and only dug herself into a deeper hole turning this corner? "I can't give up...But I don't know where to go!" Samantha screeched, grabbing her head in frustration.

"Mommy! Mommy where are you!?"

"Huh? Where's that yelling coming from?" Stopping her raging for just a second, the sound of a child yelling caught the brunette's ears. Letting her hands rest next to her sides, the teen focused her hearing on the winds currents, wondering if the sound she had just heard was just her imagination.

"I want my mommy!"

And thankfully she could easily hear it wasn't. Continuing to hear the screams and crying of the child, Samantha ran off in the direction where the voice was coming from. Turning a corner and heading down the road, Samantha stopped at last to find herself in a small neighborhood area. It was deserted from the looks of it, but far off in the distance, the form of a small child, crying and shivering in the snow stood, her face wracked with fear and turning left and right for a sign of her mom.

Walking slowly over to the little girl, Samantha gave the small child the most genuine smile she could at the moment and gave a soft wave to the girl before speaking in Japanese. _"Ohayou._ My name is Samantha. Are you lost?"

Looking back at Samantha with tear blurred eyes, the small girl nodded and preceded to try and wipe the tears flowing on her face. "I...I can't find my mommy."

Nodding to the girl's answer, Samantha's gaze shifted down to the watch on her wrist. 7:50 it read.

If she helped her, she might not be able to find Saotome Academy in time and make it to the test. But on the other hand she can't just leave this girl here. There was no way she would be able to sleep well that night nor forgive herself.

"I'll help you find here. Just come with me and make sure to hold my hand." Samantha replied and reached out to the little girl.

The girl, finished wiping the tears from her face, noticed the outreached hand and looked at it for a few moments. After looking up at Samantha and seeing the smile on the older girl's face, the little girl nodded and lightly grabbed Samantha's hand, her fingers soon gripping tighter onto her own.

Smiling down at the girl and happy to know she was able to gain her trust, the two set off out of the neighborhood and began their search. Samantha had begun the search by simply asking where Rika, the girl in question, was with her mom last. The answer from the little girl had come out in choked up sniffles, but was able to tell the teen that they had gone grocery shopping and were on their way to the park she liked, but got lost when she was distracted by a big pile of snow to play in.

"A park?" Samantha had remembered passing by a small children's park about three times while searching around for Saotome Academy. Could the park she passed perhaps be the one this little girl was looking for?

"I think I know where to go. Just follow me Rika, and make sure not to let go of my hand. Oh, and make sure to cover your head with this." Samantha spoke in a polite tone as she handed over her sky blue umbrella to help cover Rika's head of falling snow. The two females once more set out through the neighborhood streets, talking bit by bit over silly things like candy, anime, and the fluffy snow while walking. It helped both of them out in a way. Calming down Rika and helping her say positive while looking for her mother, and distracting Samantha from her worries of being late for the test.

After what seemed like minutes of talking and laughing with one another, Rika and Samantha looked out in the distance to see the park in question their journey had taken them too. Turning down to look at Rika for any sign that it was the place, a big smile stuck to the little girl's face, and soon she ran off ahead of the teen towards the park, surprising Samantha greatly. "W-Wait for me Rika!"

Bounding off after the girl, the blunette made sure not to run too fast, watchful of any hidden patches of ice or snow beneath her feet. Once getting to the entrance of the park, the sight of Rika crying and hugging an older woman made Samantha sigh with relief, a feeling of nervous weight being lifted off her shoulders.

"Thank goodness." Not wanting to disturb the reunion of the mother and daughter in front of her, Samantha looked back down at her watch and frowned, noticing the amount of time she had at the moment. Crap, she was going to be late if she didn't get a move on! Knowing that there wasn't anything else for her to do, Samantha turned on her heel and quietly began her way outside of the park, hoping to come across another road she hadn't crossed yet to find the Academy.

"Wait, please!"

Stopping mid step at the sudden call, Samantha placed her right foot in the snow and turned her gaze over to Rika's mother who held the hand of her daughter and smiled over to Samantha. "I can't thank you enough for helping my daughter. I lost track of her and couldn't find her anywhere. F there's anything I can do to thank you miss?"

Feeling her face flush with embarrassment, Samantha shook her head and waved her hands in an attempt to say "no thank you", her voice momentarily lost. "N-No it was nothing. I was only doing the right thing and helping Rika find you. There's no need to do anything extreme to thank me. I just wanted Rika get back to you safely."

"Are you sure? There isn't anything you need or would like? I'm willing to settle for anything. Nothing is more precious to me than my daughter's well being and safety." Rika's mother spoke, smiling down at her daughter while speaking, Rika herself giving her own cheeky smile back.

Not sure how to respond to the forceful yet kind offer Rika's mother was giving her, Samantha shrugged and continued to rack her mind over something to answer back to the older woman. Then all of a sudden, the most obvious answer hit her like a slap in the face.

"Do you by chance...know which way Shining Saotome Academy is?"

* * *

"Yes! Thank the lords of music!"

Feeling the urge to scream at the top of her lungs, Samantha gave into her exclamation, as the luxurious and astounding beauty of Saotome Gakuen was just a few feet from her. With walls made of brick and adorned with stone carved statues of angels and music notes, a metal plaque reading " **Shining Saotome Gakuen** " in Japanese Kanji was the dead giveaway the American needed to dash towards the front gate.

Checking her watch for the time, her watch showed the time to be 8:30. She had just made it with thirty minutes to spare, though she could have cut it a bit closer with getting lost for so long. Just goes to show that preparing ahead of time was always the best choice.

"No time for thinking to yourself. You can do that once you get inside that school and sit at your test desk." Taking off into a slight job towards the black open gates of the Academy, Samantha couldn't help but feel a wide smile spread on her usual stoic face. After all of the hardship of getting lost, worrying over every second being lost, the tense feeling she had over never being able to set foot in Saotome and apply to take the test.

Her body felt like it was on air at the moment she began sprinting over to the gates. Worries had been drained from her mind and the cold that had previously been chilling her body with each step she took no longer bothered her. The warm feeling of satisfaction and happiness had washed over her being, and sh was ready to take the test that would help her determine her life.

" _TOMARE!_ "

The loud yell caught the Samantha's ears, and as soon as she noticed the bodies of two older men standing in front of the gate with the hands out in a stopping motion, the teen did her best to slow her running and slipped a bit on the snow before stopping just four feet away from the security guards.

What's going on? Why did they ask me to stop all of a sudden? Did my running make them think she was a punk messing around outside and causing trouble? She was sure she hadn't dressed in any way that would make her stand out enough as her English or American looks would. So what was the problem?

"I'm...here to apply to Saotome Academy. So if you could just let me through here, that'd be great." Samantha spoke while trying to move past the two guards. However her movement was let with her way once more being blocked, and a shake of the head by one of the guards.

"Applications for Saotome Gakuen are now closed. Please come back next year." One of the guards spoke, his voice loud but firm in his decision while he stared at Samantha.

"...WHAT?! The testing is closed!?" Samantha exclaimed with a confused, surprised, and slightly scared expression. That couldn't be right! It shouldn't be right! It can't be right! There were still thirty minutes left until testing even began, so why did applications close so early? "That can't be right. There's still thirty minutes left before testing even starts! And you let other people inside!" Samantha yelled, her right index finger pointing ahead of her and the guards towards the deeper part of the academy grounds.

Boys and girls in their teens stood outside the academy. Some were reading over notes, some were taking a quick breakfast break, and some had just gotten inside and were marveling over the architecture of the academy. Samantha could even see a girl with light red hair running towards the building to get inside.

"You let that girl and all those other people in before me, so what makes me the exception?" Samantha asked, her Japanese slowly but surely changing to her native English language. Sometimes when she got mad enough and forgot where she was, she would begin to speak in English as if she were back in her old home, not having to worry about any language barrier.

And to the guards misfortune, they couldn't understand a bit of what the girl in front of them was saying. Every here and there was a phrase of "not fair" or "study music" in Japanese, but most words spoken had come out in a completely different language and was tough to understand fully.

The guards could however both agree that the teen in front of them was mad and heartbroken, and she didn't seem like she was going to budge at all. And to the horror of the angered teen, the guards simply crossed their arms and shook their heads.

"Give up and go home."

* * *

As Samantha slowly but surely finished her small rant and acts of pleading, the blunette slowly began to sink to her knees, her legs lazily digging into the snow beneath her and the energy that had once kept her warm and light now weighed down on her back, the cold slowly enveloping her mentally broken body.

The darkness of her own doubts and lack of self confidence was beginning to darken the world around her, and soon all she could see or feel was the cold snow beneath her, the chilling winds, and her tense yet heavy form.

She looked down at her hands, the color in them slowly paling due to her emotional state and shaking. She clasped her hands as best as she could, but felt the strength she had once drained from the lack of positive energy. Simply letting the snow fall over her form, Samantha slowly placed her shaking hands on her face, covering her eyes in an attempt to cover her brown eyes that were beginning to tear up. She couldn't let these guards see her like crying and weak, but all the energy Samantha had could only help her cover her face in a poor attempt to hide her feelings. Just like a sad child being bullied would.

Was she not going to be able to go to Saotome Academy after all?

She had wanted to go ever since learning of such a magical place years ago when she was just a pre teen trying to find her calling.

It was her chance to change herself, and find out if the person she wanted to become was possible in a cruel and tough world she at times lived in.

Would she never be able to make _that_ dream come true. . . . .

"Hey, are you okay? There's no need to cry." A male voice spoke next to Samantha's depressed form, holding an umbrella near her body to stop the falling snow from covering her.

And all of a sudden, the darkness that was consuming her emotions and her thoughts stopped. The voice, though unknown to her, had a warmth and cheerfulness unlike she anything she had heard in a long time. Slowly removing her tear stained hands from her face, the brown eyes of the depressed Samantha Kisaragi, now red from her crying turned to look in the direction of the voice, wondering who it was that had come to help her out of the blue during her moment of weakness.

The person Samantha stared at was of a boy, no older than her most likely. Short hair that matched the color of fire stood out the most to Samantha, but his eyes were something that she couldn't look away from. They matches the fiery color of his hair, but rather than being intense or glaring, they held a warmth akin to that of the sun, warm and inviting and not afraid to lend aid to someone (perhaps that being her) to share a little warmth.

"It would be bad if you caught a cold with all this snow falling." The boy spoke, noticing Samantha had said nothing to him so far and decided to continue the one-sided conversation. Outreaching a hand to Samantha, the boy gave a big smile to her. "Take my hand. I'll help you up."

Still unable to get a proper word out of her mouth, Samantha simply stared down at the hand being given to her, and once again moved her gaze back to the boy it belonged to.

Varieties of emotions were still roaring within her mind, body, and soul.

Her attempt of applying to Saotome Academy had been shattered.

And now her dreams and hopes she had were at the verge of being a fairytale.

Samantha wasn't sure if anything was going to be alright in that moment, but nonetheless the kind smile and outstretched hand being given to her made her feel like in some way, everything was going to be okay at least in that moment.

Her hand shaking nervously from both the cold and the foreign contact of the boy's hand, Samantha outreached her right hand and took ahold of the red haired boy's, feeling her body being lightly pulled to her feet.

"Thank you."


	2. Sleeping Beauty Weeps

Hello everyone! Well here is the full chapter of chapter two! It took me a while to write this since school and work have got so much of my time now. I wanted to try and add more Starish guys into the mix, but I thought trying to lengthen it would only take me longer to get this out. Hopefully you guys enjoy it. If you don't...well I guess I have to try harder.

Again, still not sure about pairing. I like Syo, but I'm also leaning towards Tokiya too. It's so hard. TAT

Remember that flaming is a no no, and that reviews are always helpful to the writing process. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, and I'll make sure to edit and fix these suggestions as chapters go along.

Anyways, on with the chapter!

Japanese = _"My name is"_

Thoughts _= 'Thoughts'_

Singing = Singing (placed in centered format)

* * *

"Thank you." The quiet voice of Samantha replied while wiping a few stray tears still on her face and trying to calm don the sniffling she had been afflicted with. It felt like one of those romance novels or cheesy cartoon moments on TV. Being saved by a prince in a princess's time of need.

"It's no problem. It wouldn't be a very nice thing to leave a girl in the snow crying now would it?" The boy asked to Samantha while giving a small smile to her in an attempt to make her feel better.

Unsure of the sudden appearance of the boy, one of the guards took a step towards both Samantha and the boy and looked them over. "And who are you?"

"I'm an applicant. I was taking a walk to clear my head when I heard you guys talking out here." The red haired boy responded as he turned to look at the guards. "I know you said that she can't come in, but she's begging to come inside. And the test doesn't start for another thirty minutes. Are you sure there isn't any other way you can't let her inside?"

Why was he helping her? Samantha knew her predicament wasn't anything a simple "please" would help fix, and his constant asking could even get him in trouble for all she knew. So what was his motivation?

"No! Late is late." The guard harshly replied back, making both Samantha and the mystery boy jump a bit in surprise by the harshness of his voice all of a sudden. "If she is not willing to come to the prescribed testing time to become an idol or composer, then she isn't suited to become a student at this school."

"Are you sure about that? If she has a good reason, wouldn't it be fair to let her inside?" A mysterious yet strong voice asked aloud, making the guards, Samantha, and the red haired boy look around the campus in surprise.

Scanning around the area for any sort of sign of where the voice had come from, her brown irises at last spotted a very fancy and clean limousine in the campus of the academy. She watched as the driver, who had turned the car off, quickly step out of his car with an umbrella and ran over to one of the passenger doors in the back. Opening the door with a swift yet calm speed, the driver opened his umbrella to cover the mystery passenger from any falling snow, but was ordered with a simple flick of the passenger's wrist to stay by the vehicle.

Turning his form to look over to where Samantha stood, the young teen could see the boy who had spoken out just like her first mystery man was just around her age. He was very tall compared to her, and his contrasting features of strawberry blonde/orange hair, light blue eyes, and chiseled features, along with the car and its driver, showed Samantha that he was nobody to simply ignore.

 _'He looks like a model from one of those famous fashion magazines. Is someone like this really coming to the same academy as me? And he's defending me too?'_ Samantha thought with both shock and amazement.

"The young lady was late because she was helping a lost child. Isn't that right?" Mystery boy #2 asked while walking over to both confused parties and gave a wink to Samantha.

"A lost...you mean the little girl? You saw me?" Samantha suddenly asked after piecing together what mystery boy #2 asked her.

Nodding to her surprise, mystery boy #2 reached into his large coat pocket and pulled out a small, yet familiar umbrella neatly tucked away in its pouch and handed it to Samantha. "I believe this is yours. You gave it to the little girl because she lost hers right?"

Staring down at the hand outstretched to her, Samantha slowly reached for the umbrella in the boy's hands and took it in her own. "Oh. Thank you for returning it. You didn't have to though."

"It was no trouble little lady. And don't worry about the little girl. I bought her a new one while passing by, and I think she really likes it." Mystery boy #2 said with a chuckle while he moved a strand of his hair away from his face. "If I had known you were coming all this way like I was, I would have offered you a ride to the academy."

"It's alright. You didn't know, so you don't have to feel bad about it." Samantha said in with the best smile she could give. If only he had known and they had talked earlier, she wouldn't be stuck in such a mess and wasting these boys' time.

After returning the umbrella to Samantha, mystery boy #2 looked over at the guards, their previous irritation and hardened nature now having lost a bit of their intimidating looks after the appearance of yet another person. "You both really think that someone who would go out of there way to use their precious time to help a little girl than get to a test on time is not worthy of coming to this academy?" The harsh words of the mystery boy rang, making the two guards grimace at the bit of truth in them.

Surprised at the words he was speaking, Samantha watched mystery boy #2 in shock. "Wow. He's really ripping these guys a new one." She whispered quietly, hoping the guars in particular didn't hear her.

Having heard her words, mystery boy #1 bent towards Samantha and looked to her a bit confused. "Ripped them a new one? I don't understand."

Giving a nervous laugh due to being heard, Samantha simply gave a small chuckle. Her previous sadness and grief had slowly drifted away since this mess had started, thanks to her mystery heroes and their kind words in trying to defend her. She did not know if she would get accepted into the academy, but at least she wasn't feeling like crap anymore. "Don't worry about it. It isn't really anything important."

Adamant with their decision, the guards unfortunately stayed firm. "Late is late. We cannot let her inside." One guard spoke, the other simply nodding.

* * *

While the teens and guards continued their discussion, a small camera lightly covered in snow sat atop one of the school walls. Turning in the direction of where the discussion was taking place, the camera's lens began to zoom in slowly one each person participating, until finally landing on the instigator of it all, Samantha.

Sitting along within a darkened room, the shadowed figure of an older man sat in his desk chair, looking over a large amount of monitors mounted on his wall. Some were covered with numbers and data and others with pictures of applicants taking the exams that very day. One lone monitor focused on the conversation at the gates, and it was the one that had most of the shadowed figure's attention.

"Should I give you a chance? Will you be someone who brings serenades of music to my school, or will you just be a simple student with no drive?" The man asked the monitor screen with Samantha's image on it, as if she would turn and respond to his question.

Hands folded together and resting his chin atop them, the man smiled a devilishly confident smile and grabbed his desk phone. Typing in a couple of numbers and waiting for the dial tone to go through, the man gave a deep and hearty laugh.

"Show me the passion in that soul of yours and create beautiful music! Don't make me regret my decision, Miss Kisaragi."

* * *

It was if their words getting through the these guards at all. Did they have no souls or something? There Samantha was being defended by two unknown, but nice boys to help her get into the academy, still with so much time to spare and get ready and still they would not let her in.

Was she only putting off the inevitable? No matter how much common sense or words the three teens tried to throw at them, the guards wouldn't budge. Maybe it was better to just give up?

Noticing the guards' attention being taken away from the group of three by a phone call, Samantha took this opportunity to at least confront the boys who were helping her through this ordeal. "I'm sorry you both have been getting yelled because of me. You both made it here on time apparently, so you can leave if you want. I'll understand."

Having given the guard who had looked at him straight in the eyes a pouting look, mystery boy #1 turned to look over to Samantha and said, "It's no trouble. I couldn't just stand by and watch these guys be mean to you like that. There is still time, so there shouldn't be any reason they can't let you inside."

Motioning a thumb in mystery boy #1's direction, mystery boy #2 smirked and said, "Red here is right. There is still time before they close the gates. There should be no reason to keep a pretty girl like you from taking the test. It doesn't seem like these two know how to treat a woman properly." The orange haired boy replied, shaking his head in a joking manner.

Feeling her face warm up at the mention of being pretty, Samantha embarrassingly shifted her gaze downward in an attempt to hide her face. Whether it was the words or the cold making her face red, Samantha would never know.

Closing the flip phone within his hand and turning to the three students huddled in a conversation, the guard spoke. "You may go inside miss. You've been cleared to take the test."

Hearing what seemed to be a miracle being spoken from the guard, both Samantha and the two mystery boys turned their heads to show a look of surprise on each of their faces, unsure if what they had heard was true.

"W-What? I can really go inside?!" Samantha asked incredulously. Hadn't the guards just a moment ago so adamant to not let her inside? They couldn't have asked to bend the rules to let her inside, so who talked them into letting her inside?

 _'Oh who cares right now!? You can go take the test!'_ Samantha's thoughts screamed within the confines of her mind, making the blunette give a big smile and feel like jumping in the air in victory.

"Isn't that great? You can take the test with us now!" Mystery boy #1 spoke gleefully, smiling to Samantha, happy to know she wasn't denied her chance. Turning his gaze over to the other boy, Otoya rested a hand on his shoulder and gave another beaming smile. "That was some great smooth talk before.

A small smile gracing his lips at the turn of events, mystery boy #2 felt the pat on the shoulder from his fellow test taker and slowly removed the foreign hand from his shoulder to walk over to face Samantha, ignoring the words spoken by the red head. "Yes it truly is. I hope you pass so that we may meet one another again in little blue bird. I'm sure even among all of the other songs I hear when April comes, I'll be able to spot your lovely music in an instant."

Looking upwards to the taller boy, Samantha continued smiling and gave a chuckle at the poetic words he spoke to her. She wouldn't have put so much faith in her composing skills, but she took the compliment nonetheless.

"I'll do my best to pass and make sure you do hear my songs." Samantha replied back with confidence. Turning her attention from the two boys to look towards the academy doors far ahead of her, Samantha took a deep breath and gripped the strap of her bag tightly in her small hands.

She'd be given another chance and she wasn't going to screw it up.

 _'It's like grandpa always said. Just talking about it isn't going to get you anywhere. Put your effort into something and put truth into the words you say!'_ The blunette thought confidentially to herself as the exciting yet nervous feeling of passion began to swell up inside her chest.

Moving her hands to her cheeks and slapping herself quickly to snap her out of her thoughts, the petite teen looked at the gates behind her one last time before sprinting off towards the academy's entrance as fast as her legs could take her.

 _'I'm going to pass. I'm going to get into this academy, learn music, and maybe even try and make some friends. I'll pass with flying colors without any worries or problems...and I'll prove to her that my dream isn't a fool's dream!'_

Her body feeling warm and energized by her raging passionate thoughts, Samantha smirked to herself as she could see the entrance of the academy get closer and closer to her with each step she took.

 _'I'm going to pass! As the music Gods or whoever it is out there as my witness I'll-'_

Unable to feel the piece of ice beneath her right foot, the passionate monologue in Samantha's head came to a halt as she slipped face first onto the snowy ground below her, slamming hard into the soft snow and cushioning her fall.

Groaning at both the sudden fall and the cold feeling of the snow submerging her face, the teen slowly used her arms to push her face out of the snow and spit some snow out of her mouth. Checking her body for any broken bones, bruises, or cuts, the young teen sighed in relief.

That's what she gets for being prideful and running on huge piles of snow and ice at high speeds like an idiot. Getting up off the ground as fast (and safely) as she could and heading towards the academy, the blunette finally got to the door and quickly walked inside, trying to keep a mask of confidence on.

Her pride may have been hurt a bit, but Samantha didn't get any broken bones or injuries from the fall and she didn't think anybody had seen her fall. She'd call that a win-win for now.

* * *

"Is there something outside you think is funny Kurusu-san?" The voice of an authoritative examiner asked.

His focus turned to a short blonde haired boy sitting at a desk at the far right of the room nearby a window, the examiner could see the examinee student had finished his written test early and was looking out the window to his left at something, his hand trying to cover his mouth in some attempt to stop his laughter from getting out of hand and distracting other test takers.

Hearing his name being called out, Kurusu Syo quickly jumped in his seat slightly, turning his body back to face the front of the room and neatly placed his hands on the desk, trying to keep his chuckling in control and shook his head. "N-no sir. It won't happen again."

Thankfully for Syo the examiner gave him a slap on the wrists, but warned that any more problems would cause him a reduction on his test points. And if the judges graded tough on the idol portion of the test, he needed every point he could get.

Turning his gaze quickly back to the window next to him, Syo could see the girl who had fallen in the snow pick herself back up before running towards the building.

 _'Wonder if she's going for idol or composer.'_ Syo thought to himself, a small smile on his face. _'If a girl like her passes, I'm sure this place won't be so boring.'_

* * *

 _'Don't be nervous! If you keep stressing out before the test even begins, you'll do bad idiot!'_ Samantha berated in her mind as she tried to casually sit in her assigned desk chair. After getting through the doors of the academy she had bolted straight towards any sign of an information desk to find out the classroom she needed to get to.

Thankfully it wasn't difficult after getting lost the first two times in this academy's many hallways, and now she, along with other test takers around her age, were awaiting the examiner to tell them the specifics of how the tests would be taken and what would need to be done.

Quietly turning her head from left and right to take in her surroundings, Samantha could tell that quite a few people in the classroom with her knew each other, with some casually talking or cracking a few jokes with one another to pass the time they had. Now that she had thought about it, she'd never seen either mystery boys from earlier inside the classroom she was in. Were they in a different classroom from her?

Turning back to face forward in her chair, Samantha slowly began to slump in her chair, her fingers slowly beginning to grip the seat edges of her seat as she frowned. She had nearly been dismissed from taking the test but thankfully a miracle of some kind had saved her from that fate. The worst had passed, so why did she feel nervous...and scared?

 _'Maybe it's because I'm alone. This isn't like home where everyone speaks your native language and you've made friends. You're a complete stranger they've never seen before.'_

" _Ne? Daijoubu des ka?_ " A feminine voice directed towards Samantha.

"W-What?" Quickly letting go of her seat and sitting back up in her seat, Samantha found herself staring at another girl who was looking at her with worry. The girl had to be about a foot taller than she was, and her hair was the complete opposite of hers. Longer and flowing with a wild, yet soft and cute hairstyle and burning red like fire. And her eyes were something she'd never seen before. They seemed to hold both the darkness of purple and the lightness of pink, which created an alluring and breathtaking color that to be honest, made the petite girl blush as she felt the pair of eyes on her.

Seeing Samantha stare at her with a confused silence, the girl simply chuckled and gave a grin to her. "Sorry about spooking you. You looked a bit pale, so I got worried and wanted to see if you were okay. It wouldn't be very helpful if you passed out before the test even started." Reaching her hand towards Samantha, the girl gave another grin to assure her. "I'm Shibuya Tomochika. You?"

Knowing it'd be rude not to return the gesture, Samantha gave her own hand and grasped Tomochika's hand and shook it in a weak, but polite manner. "Kisaragi. Kisaragi Samantha."

" _Suumanutha_? I'm sorry if I couldn't pronounce that. I'm not used to meeting people with foreign names." Tomochika replied, rubbing the back of her head as she took a seat at the desk next to Samantha's. "So if I'm allowed to ask, what's got you looking so bummed out? Test anxiety already getting to you?"

Trying her best to lighten the load she was feeling, Samantha gave a light shrug and did her best to smile. "I guess. This test is a big deal, but it isn't what's bothering me the most. It's more the fact that everyone here seems to know each other. They all seem like good friends or at least have met before. I on the other hand feel pretty alone in this classroom."

"That makes sense. I felt the same way whenever I went to a new class for school. But don't worry about it. It'll pass once you get started and focus on the test. I'm hoping it'll help me too." Tomochika said while giving a wink to Samantha.

Smiling at the wink from Tomochika, Samantha gave a slightly bigger smile and nodded. "Thank you Shibuya-san. Just talking actually helps a bit."

"No trouble, but you don't have to call me Shibuya-san. I prefer my friends call me by my first name, and by the time we see each other again in April, you'll see me pronounce your name perfectly Suuu...Suuman..."

Knowing her name was going to be a challenge for Tomochika, Samantha simply shook her head and motioned for Tomochika to relax. "Don't worry about it Tomochika. You don't have to try right now."

"Oh that's good. I'll make sure to get it right next time though." Tomochika responded with a cute grin on her face and playfully patted Samantha's shoulder.

As the wait time continued on, Samantha ended up spending most of her time talking with Tomochika from then on. The two talked about school, their love of music, hobbies, and even their inspirations that drove them to even apply to such a prestigious school in the first place. But all good things came to an end, and after laughing at a joke's punchline Tomochika was giving, the two girls, along with many of the other teenagers, turned towards the doorway when the wooden door slid open to reveal an older man dressed in a tailored suit. His face gave off a sense of professionalism and underneath his right arm was a large manila folder with many papers of unknown information sticking out a bit from the corners.

 _'That has to be the examiner.'_ Samantha thought, feeling her previous joy and enthusiasm from her and Tomochika's playful banter die out, and once again the sense of dread crawled back into her system and began to adjust herself and straighten her posture at her desk.

Closing the door behind him and walking to the center of the front of the class, the older man cleared his throat and turned to look at the many young, and albeit nervous, faces staring back at him. Motioning for the students in the class to take their seats, the examiner placed the large folder on the desk behind him and began taking out two pieces of paper and soon turned to show them to the class.

"Welcome to the test registration for Shining Saotome's Music Academy. I am Mr. Toshi your examiner and in a sense teacher for the day. Now I am sure all of you are very nervous and eager to get your test over with and to get out of here, but before we begin we will need to make sure you all know how exactly testing works here." Mr. Toshi spoke, his eyes scanning the room to see if any of the students had a question to ask. No hands were raised, so the examiner continued.

"As you all know, this academy strives to teach the fundamentals of music to the younger generation in hopes that you too can achieve your dreams and become the singer or writer you wish to be. However before you can take these classes to do so, you will need to pass the classes necessary to do so, and before any of that, you will need to choose your path." It was after these words the examiner raised two pieces of paper in the air for the students to see.

With her desk being in the front, Samantha squinted her eyes to get a better look at the words written at the top of both papers. After a bit of deciphering, the paper in the examiner's right hand read " _ **Idol**_ ", while the one in his left read " _ **Composer**_ ".

"In one of my hands is your career you want to pursue. For examinees wishing to take the idol test and hope to study and become an idol, you'll be writing your name on the paper in my right hand. Examinees for composing will write their name on the paper in my left. After everyone has written their name down I will pass out your written test, and you may begin once given your test." The examiner then placed the two papers on the desk at the front of the class and took the desk chair nearby.

"This is already making me tense. And I haven't even written my name down yet." Tomochika muttered, her shoulders shivering with a quick chill.

"I know how you feel." Samantha quietly replied back, shifting her gaze to look at Tomochika with a nervous smile in an attempt to help ease their worries.

"As a reminder, composers will only need to take part in the written exam given to officially finish the testing for application to the school. Any students hoping to take the idol course will need to pass both the written test and an vocal practical." The older man replied while adjusting his posture and rested his hands on the desk top. "And remember to choose wisely. Once you pick the course you wish to take, you cannot change. Now if everyone would go write their name on the paper desired in an orderly fashion, we will begin testing in a few minutes."

It happened slowly, but students began to get up from their seats and head over to the front of the room. The scratching of pen could be heard in the quiet room, with many people filing in a line to fill in the idol form, the few others writing their names on the composer option before heading back to their desks.

Shrugging her shoulders and turning to look over to Samantha, the fiery haired Tomochika smirked and motioned for Samantha to come with her. "Looks like we better hurry up or everyone's going to be waiting on us."

"I'm sure they can wait a few more seconds. It isn't everyday you get to wait in a line and be forced to sign a piece of paper that may determine the rest of your life." The anxious voice of Samantha spoke while following Tomochika to the line of other students.

While the line continued to go on and on, Tomochika tilted her head back to look at her blue haired friend. "I'm going to the idol course. Wanna do it with me? We can become a super idol duo and take the world by storm." Tomochika suggested with a gleeful wink.

A bit shocked by the sudden offer by Tomochika, Samantha gave a soft smile to her friend, but shook her head at the question. "As fun as it sounds, I don't think it would fit me that well. I haven't sang in a long time. I probably don't even sound that good."

"Hey don't count yourself out so quick. All of us here aren't professional's, so we're all in the same boat with the exception of some singing lessons. Who knows? Maybe you've got the best voice out of all of us." Tomochika said reassuringly as she began to messily rub Samantha's hair in a playful gesture, making Samantha flinch at the contact.

"T-Tomochika!? You'e messing up my hair." Samantha responded as she fidgeted beneath Tomochika's playful touch.

"*ahem* If you two are done playing, many of your fellow test takers have already written their names down. I suggest you do the same." Mr. Toshi spoke, his voice containing a hint of annoyance and strained patience.

Feeling their faces flare up with embarrassment, the two girls immediately kept their mouths shut and quietly moved over to the front desk to write their names down. Tomochika had been the first, and with a neatly written name in kanji and a cute heart symbol next to her name, Shibuya Tomochika had officially signed herself up to become an idol. She later turned to take her seat, but gave Samantha a short wave before heading back.

Giving a small wave from her side back to her friend, Samantha headed over to the front of the desk to look at the two papers in front of her. From what she could tell, just about two-thirds of the class wanted to become idols, with just only a handful or so attempting to become composers.

But which would she choose?

 _'What was it I came here to do? What was my goal from the first moment I decided to try and enroll here?'_ Samantha voice asked within her mind. It was hard to tell really. She truly loved music with all her heart, and any job in the field would have satisfied her needs.

Being a composer meant it wasn't as much a glamorous job as being a famous singer, but you got to be by yourself in peace, writing down music motifs and creating interesting music to your heart's content of all varieties to help both new and professional idols.

Being an idol meant so much more. You had to express feeling into the songs you say and take on jobs to help your career in any way. It would be tough at first, but her effort would prove how dedicated to her job she was. She would get to wear outfits that seemed to be worn by princesses in fairytales. She would travel to new places if her hard work paid off. She could meet new people and perhaps even make friends with people who had the same dreams and aspirations as she did. And all she would have to do was work hard and...

She would have to sing.

A lyrical melody would have to leave her lips.

* * *

She stood on a glittering stage.

She was dressed in an outfit unfamiliar to her, yet it felt like a perfect fit, like Cinderella and her glass slippers. A stylish but energetic outfit of white and blue, Samantha wore a black tank top underneath a sleeveless white shirt that reached just a bit past her ribcage, showing her midriff. Blue cargo pants were a comfortable fit to allow her easy movement, with matching colored fingerless gloves and tennis shoes. Around her hips was a white belt decorated with hearts of red, blue, orange, pink, yellow, purple, and even green. She even had a single earring of a star hanging from her right ear that glittered in the lights of the stage she stood on. Lastly was the design of her shirt. Though a white shirt, symbols of lightning bolts, hearts, stars, and music notes adorned the front of back of her shirt.

It wasn't exactly the type of outfit you would see on a queen or a princess, but it fit Samantha's style, and she loved it. What she didn't love was the silence.

She wasn't sure how, but it felt as if the large stadium she stood in was deathly quiet. Despite the quietness, the blunette knew there were people out there in the seats in her vision, and with the best of her effort tried to raise her voice in an attempt to sing.

Nothing came out. She tried again, but still nothing. She tried to talk, to yell, even scream if she had to.

Her eyes widened in fear and she kept trying. She could feel her voice box, her throat, straining with each silent gasp she was making, but still no sound. Her hands clutched her neck in both fear and frustration and Samantha could feel herself hyperventilate at each breath she took.

People were out there.

They were staring at her and judging her every move.

Whispers, Samantha could hear them somehow despite being unable to speak herself.

"She's not singing."

"I can't believe this loser's trying to become famous."

"Can't even sing a couple of words on her own."

"Aren't idols supposed to be confident?"

"Why isn't she smiling? Doesn't she know we're judging her."

Her body felt weak. Each breath she took felt hotter and tougher to regain. Samantha fell to her knees and laid her hands on the ground in an attempt to keep herself from collapsing. The darkness that once only filled the audience began to encroach the area around her, and continued to close in. Eyes wide in fear and her body shaking, Samantha seemed to finally find her voice, but it wasn't coming out of her own mouth. It was coming from the darkness surrounding her.

"Why aren't you here?"

"I'm scared! Help me! Please!"

"I can't do this on my own!"

"Everyone won't stop staring."

"I can't breathe."

"I'm not cool enough to be noticed."

"I'm not passionate enough to sparkle like a star."

"I'm not pretty enough to shine like a princess."

"Someone as stupid and plain as me shouldn't be an idol."

The darkness was only getting closer, and hoping to somehow shut out the voices in some way, Samantha shut her eyes tight and clutched her body with her arms wrapped around her body. She could feel her voice gaining strength, if only a little. What was she supposed to say after that barrage of her innermost thoughts?

"How? How can I make my dream come true if I can't even sing?" Samantha asked herself, the wet feeling of hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

And she cried, and cried, and cried within the darkness of her inner thoughts.

* * *

"Miss? Are you alright? I know this test is a very important deal for many of you, but it is no reason to go pale in worry. Do you wish to go to the first aid office?" Mr Toshi asked, looking at the stiff form of the student in front of his desk.

Feeling as if she had just awoke from a nightmare, Samantha gave a weak gasp and gripped the pin in her fingers tightly, her eyes darting a bit around the room to figure out her surroundings. There was no stage, no darkness, no silence.

She was still in the classroom at Saotome. Some students were quietly talking to one another, others bored I their seats waiting for instruction. Samantha could see Tomochika in her desk in the corner of her eye, but the blunette could feel her friend's concerned gaze on her. How long had she zoned out?

"W-What? I'm sorry I zoned out for a moment, sir."

"I asked if you needed to go to the first aid office. You are looking a bit pale. Are you feeling alright?" Mr. Toshi asked.

 _'Do I really look that bad?'_ Samantha wondered quietly in her head before nodding. "Y-Yes sir. I'm sorry. I'm just getting over a small cold is all." Trying to come up with some plausible lie, Samantha hastily scribbled her name down on a sheet of paper and headed back to her seat. She slowly took deep breaths to somehow calm her beating heart, and soon color began to return back to her face.

After a few minutes of organizing students into the groups for idols and composers, each student was handed the test for for their course choice. As Tomochika grabbed her form and smiled at the paper given to her, she looked over to Samantha and mouthed a "good luck" to her.

Slowly turning her head and seeing the blessing, Samantha returned the gesture before being handed her own test and placed it on the top of her desk. Taking out a pencil and eraser from her bag, the blunette took a deep breath to calm her body and opened the test booklet she was handed and readied her writing utensil.

* * *

 _*A Few Weeks Later*_

It was the early morning. The sun at dawn was just breaking above the mountains and the birds were chirping. The soft and cool feeling of mist spread through the city and people who had to open up shops and get groceries were up and ready. Samantha herself was one of those people.

Getting dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts, Samantha quietly began to help her mother by taking out the trash, making breakfast for the two of them, feeding their dog Hana, and lastly grabbing the mail. Quietly going out the front entrance of the flower shop, Samantha opened the door of the mailbox near their home and grabbed whatever was within the box. Pulling her arm out and taking a look at what she had grabbed, the blunette could see envelopes for bills, a magazine subscription, and a small manila packet with her name on it.

Along with her name, the stamp of Saotome Academy was neatly placed at the corner, making the teen's eyes widen a bit. _'This is it.'_

Clutching the folder in her hand tightly, Samantha headed back into the house, greeting her mother and handing her the group of bills and her magazine. As her mother began eating breakfast, Samantha leaned against the wall of the kitchen and simply stared down at the mail in her hands, lightly twiddling it in her hands every few seconds.

"Are those your test results?" The strong yet caring voice of Samantha's mother asked, taking a sip of her coffee while looking at her daughter.

"Yep." Samantha simply replied, her focus still on the envelope as she answered.

"Well aren't you going to open it? I'd like to know how you did. And you worked hard to get there from what you told me." Getting up from her seat and walking over to her daughter, Samantha's mother snatched the envelope out of her daughter's hand and jokingly waved it towards the small Yorkie dog that quietly sat in her dog bed. "If you don't open it, I'll let Hana tear it up and we'll hope we can read it after she's done with it."

Frowning at the joking tone she was making, Samantha grabbed the envelope back and began to open it. "I'll do it mom. Geez." After ripping open a park of the folder and carefully pulling out the papers inside, Samantha began to scan the papers until finding her results on the final page.

Left in the dark about the details, Samantha's mother waved her hand in front of her daughter's face. "Well? Did you pass or fail honey?"

"I...passed." Samantha spoke, her voice feeling a bit uncertain as she answered. She was going to say more, but feeling the crushing hug of her mother around her body made the teen yelp in surprise.

"That's wonderful honey! Congratulations! I can't wait to tell all of our customers this when they come in today. I'll get to brag to all of them that my daughter is studying at a prestigious music school." The joyful voice of her mother spoke while she was crushed in another hug.

"B-But I barely know anything about music. I'm sure everybody else there knows way more than I do mom." Samantha said as she was finally released from the death hug and rubbed her slightly sore arm.

"It doesn't matter. You still have a few months to learn at least the basics. It's a school dear, so I am sure they will have books on anything you need to learn. And if you really need to, I can let you off work at the flower shop for a few days if it helps you with your studies."

Feeling the encouragement of her mother words, Samantha couldn't help but smile a little, and gave a small nod and clutched the test papers close to her chest. "Okay. I'll make sure to do my best mom."

After eating her breakfast and brushing her hair, Samantha quietly sat down on the living room couch while petting her dog. Her mother had to run of to go and get supplies for the store, so she simply sat alone in the small house and waited for her to return.

"Hana, do you think I'm going to do okay? I'm not sure if I can study enough about music to pass all of this." Samantha quietly said aloud, looking down at the brown furred dog who was sitting on the couch next to her.

"Yip!" Hana barked in response while looking at Samantha. The dog walked closer to her, and soon climbed on the girl's chest until getting near her face. The small Yorkie barked once more before liking the girl's face relentlessly, as if trying to convey to her that everything would be okay.

"I get it Hana! You can stop licking me now." Samantha complained, grabbing the dog and raising her up in the air to stop them from slobbering on her anymore. Giving a smile to the tiny animal, Samantha gave a soft hug to the dog and pet her head. "Thanks for the encouragement though. I needed that. I'm going to miss you when I have to go."

Continuing her play date with her tiny dog, Samantha's gaze shifted towards the small packet of test results on the kitchen counter. She had passed, and now she only had to study and wait or that fateful day.

 _ **Shining Saotome Music Academy Test Results**_

 _ **Name: Samantha Kisaragi**_

 _ **Age: 17**_

 _ **Gender: Female**_

 _ **Results: Passed**_

 _ **Academy Course: Composer**_

* * *

Yay! All done! Took me a bit with this, but I think I wrote a bit more than the first chapter...maybe. I'm glad I did not end on a sad note like last chapter. Though it did get dark in the middle. Sorry about that.

Thankfully testing is over, and that means we'll be going into the first day of Saotome Academy next chapter. It'll most likely follow the routine of the first episode, but may have a few different meetings and twists. That is, if I can get it out in time. Maybe another preview. XD

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Or that it was interesting. Review always help and remember no flaming please. :3


	3. Shining Student's First Day

**_H-Hello everyone..._**

 ** _I have no good reason for not updating properly. I had school during the time I was supposed to write this chapter, and by the time I was done with the break I had to go through spring and summer semester consecutively. It hasn't really left much time to allow me to write or come up with story ideas, but luckily I have some time off before the next semester, so I've decided to try and get the third chapter out._**

 ** _I hope it turns out well to your expectations. It may not be as long as my last two since I can't tell how much I usually write, but I hope it's long. XP_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't Uta no Prince Sama or anything owned by Nintendo. If I had both that would be cool...TAT_**

* * *

"Musical Composition. The term refers to the original piece of music, the structure of the musical piece, or the process of blah blah blugh."

Groaning as Samantha laid sprawled across the living room couch, the young teen stared at the countless black inked words that dashed across the pages of the book she read. It had been quite a bit of time since she had received her letter of acceptance to Saotome Academy, and she had been determined to learn as much as she could about composing to be able just as capable as the rich kids who were going to be there.

But nobody said it was going to require THIS much reading!

"I can't believe people had to read all of this stuff just to know how to compose music and take the test for Shining's academy." Samantha spoke with slight surprise laced in her voice.

Standing in the kitchen and poking her head out from the doorway, Samantha's mother smiled and shook her head. "You said you would do your best to make sure you passed for me. I know you've been reading quite a bit since you got the letter, but one more book can't hurt you can it? After all your first day is tomorrow. You'll want to know as much as you can."

Frowning at her mother's wisdom, Samantha looked at the book in her hands one more time before lightly throwing it onto the table, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Oh no. I suddenly forgot how to read. Looks like I can't get through the rest of this book tonight." Samantha said in a poor attempt at sounding shocked.

Hearing the book clatter onto the living room table, Samantha's mother shook her head and sighed. "Fine fine. You've done enough reading this past few weeks. We'll let that one slide. It's getting late anyways. You'll want to go up to bed now if you want to be up bright and early in the morning."

"I know mom. But I'm having a chocolate break first. I didn't eat anything sweet yet and dinner was an hour ago." Samantha said as she headed into the kitchen.

Heading to the refrigerator and opening the freezer door, Samantha pulled out a frozen cold chocolate bar and gave a lazy smile at the sweet. Closing the door and turning around to head out back to her room, Samantha jumped in surprise when she saw her mother standing in front of her.

Not sure what was going on, Samantha id her best to calm down her hear that was beating a mile a minute and looked at her mother confused. "Uhh...Did you need something mom?"

Simply giving her daughter a gentle smile, Samantha's mother shook her head. "Not really. I just wanted to say I'm proud of you honey."

Feeling her face grow warm and having the urge to turn away in embarrassment, Samantha settled with just looking to the side, hoping her mother didn't see the confusion on her face. "W-Where is this coming from all of a sudden? You've been saying that for a while now since I got that letter and stuff."

"I know, but I thought I'd say it again. All this time since you've grown up, I never saw you have a true interest in anything until you started to enjoy music the way you do now. Even after what happened with-"

"I-I know mom. You...don't have to say it." Samantha replied hastily, her body suddenly getting tense at her mother's words and clenching her hands tightly. Her gaze only continued to stay away from her mother, but this time it began to sharpen a bit and glare at nothing in particular.

Seeing the emotions coming off of her child, Samantha's mother realized her error, but continued to smile. "Anyways, I'm just happy that you're making your dream...whatever you choose it to be, to come true. I'm happy to see you pursue something in your life that makes you happy and becoming a strong young women. I'll support you with whatever decision you make. That's all I wanted to say."

Seeing her daughter still looking away from her, Samantha's mother reached over and gave her daughter a hug, rubbing her back soothingly before letting go of her and heading back to the dishes that needed to be washed.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen for what felt like hours, Samantha finally moved her gaze in a slow manner to her mother's turned back before slowly heading out of the room towards the stairs.

However just before leaving the room Samantha stopped at the doorway, clutching the frame for a few seconds before growing the nerve to speak. "T-Thanks mom."

After saying as much as she could muster Samantha headed to the stairs, petting Hana a bit before heading upstairs to her room. Opening the door and closing it behind her, Samantha sighed heavily before looking at her rooms contents one by one.

Her desk with all the composing books she had been reading sprawled out across the top, her MP3 sitting nearby after listening to it for music examples, her messy bed that she had been too lazily to make since it got messy again anyways, and the small dresser in the corner that kept nicknacks and photos for her to see.

Walking over to the dresser and staring at a poster plastered above it, Samantha smiled a bit at the sight of her HAYATO poster before it moved down to one framed photo in particular. Clenching her teeth in anger and stress, the teen took the frame and angrily slammed it downwards, removing the photo from her sight.

Heading to her bed and swiftly hiding herself in the sheets of her bed, Samantha shut her eyes in an attempt to sleep, but suddenly felt something crumpled in her right hand. Staring down at her clenched hand, the blunette found the crushed remains of the packaged chocolate bar in er hand, broken and smashed from the force of her hand earlier.

"Forgot about this."

Not wanting to waste the delicious chocolate she had wanted, Samantha lazily opened the package up and reached to grab a piece. Hoping it would steer the negative feelings that she was feeling and help her destress from the conversation earlier and her worry of the oncoming day, the teen put the rest of the bar on top of the nightstand next to her bed and popped the single piece on her mouth before closing her eyes to sleep.

 _'….It tastes bitter.'_

* * *

"I'm leaving mom, Hana. I'll send an email once the school day is over." Samantha called out loudly from the front door, turning her body around to look at herself in the mirror nearby.

Being unable to get a great amount of sleep and still a bit tired, Samantha had decided it'd be best to head out as early as possible, less she wanted some weird incident like test day. However her pressing concern was the uniform she had to wear. It felt so...girly and frilly compared to what she usually wore. Did it look good on her? Did it make her look fat? Or did it seem too flashy?

 _'I mean I kept my hair in its usual style and didn't add anything weird to it. Would it even matter if I did add anything?'_ Samantha thought with uncertainty.

"Maybe I should try to become somebody new here. Nobody knows me. I could try to be the new energetic girl in class. Like Hayato on T.V." Moving her body to give off an energetic pose and giving s peace sign at her reflection, Samantha grinned brightly. "OHA YAHHO! I'm Kisaragi Samantha! Nice to meet you-chi!"

"What was that dear?" Samantha's mother called out.

Jumping at her mother's voice and hoping she hadn't seen her dorky display, Samantha swiftly switched back to her original standing position, fiddling with her neatly tied bow to distract herself. "N-Nothing! I-I'm going mom!"

"Wait a second honey! I want to give you something before you go." Samantha's mother called out from her room.

"It's not another pep talk is it? I'm already going to have to sit through another one at the entrance ceremony." Samantha muttered, hoping it wasn't going to be that.

Seeing her mother walk down the stairs, Samantha looked down at the contents she was holding. In one hand seemed to be a black box of velvet, a blue ribbon tied neatly around it. In the other was a tiny bouquet of light blue and white flowers.

"I wanted to give you these before you left for school. Congratulation and good luck gifts." Samantha's mother said, smiling as she handed Samantha the velvet box.

"Y-You didn't have to get me jewelry mom. You know I don't really wear it much. It's kinda showy." Unsure of what was exactly inside, Samantha slowly opened took the ribbon off the box and carefully opened it before gasping in surprise.

To her surprise and happiness, the item within the box wasn't jewelry at all, but rather a hair accessory. And despite the showy box and design, the accessory was nowhere near as expensive as she had thought. Taking the hairpin out of the box and holding it in her hands, Samantha smile at the light metal clip, colored in onyx black, with a decoration at the end that was the exact likeness of Pikachu's face.

"It's a Pikachu! You do know me well! Thanks mom!" Samantha said with a bright smile, looking down at the hairpin with glee. Wanting to put it on as fast as she could, Samantha turned to the mirror to try and put the clip on properly, but gave a frustrated sigh as she tried to align it properly in her hair.

"I'll get it for you dear." Seeing her mother walk over to her, Samantha stopped fiddling with the clip and let her mother put the clip in her hair, turning back to the mirror to see it was in the exact place she wanted it and matched her uniform.

"I knew you'd want something like that. I was at the mall trying to find you nice gift at the jewelry stores, but I realized after all the long searches I did that going somewhere you lied would be a much better idea. It only took me five minutes in the Pokemon Center store to find that for you. I saw it and knew right away it had your name on it." Samantha's mother said knowingly with loving shake of her head.

"I love it! And I'm not lying either. I'm totally going to wear this everyday." Samantha declared with a grin as she turned back to her mother.

"I've also got these for you too dear. I thought they'd help relax and make some friends at school. Nothing says charming and energetic like lisianthus flowers." Walking to her daughter, Samantha's mother handed the tiny bouquet of flowers to her daughter, patting her on the head as she did so. "We had a low stock anyways, so I'm sure they'll do you much more good than just withering in the back."

"You sure you want to give these to me? What if some guy has to impress his girlfriend and she likes lisianthus? You won't have any to give him. Then what will you do?" Samantha asked in an exaggerated tone before opening the front door and heading out in a quick sprint.

"Don't run too fast! I don't want to hear you went to the first aid office on your first day for falling!" Samantha's mother called out to her daughter as she ran down the sidewalk.

"I won't! Bye!" Stopping to wave goodbye to her mother, Samantha looked back at the flower shop and her own home before turning back to head down the road towards Saotome Academy, flowers and bag in hand.

* * *

"I wonder what I'll learn when I get there." Walking down the sidewalks of the neighborhood and following the path she had taken months ago to get to school, Samantha's thoughts wandered to her future day at the academy.

"First is probably orientation so nobody is running around lost. We'll probably have a class too, learn some sort of lesson, get some homework. They couldn't give us a project right on the first day right?" Samantha asked aloud, waiting at the sidewalk for the crosswalk light to change. "They probably expect us to know everything since this academy is the best. I mean I did pass without too much experience, but I can't ignore the competition I'm going to face. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who's going to be overwhelmed."

Seeing the light change and other passerby crossing, Samantha lightly jumped off the curb of the sidewalk and landed on the street before heading to the other side, muttering to herself as she went on her way.

"Now that I think about it, I wonder if Tomochika passed...I'm sure she did. We were both nervous, but she looked smart enough to get through that easy. But she did have the idol course test. I wonder how she did singing wise." Samantha wondered, her mind wandering to the events that had happened during her test taking.

From helping the lost Rika, to being blocked by guards, and getting in to take the test, that day was no walk in the park and was the most stressful day of that year for sure. But she ad met some nice people while she was there who had helped her.

"Oh yeah! Mystery boy one and mystery boy two! I never go their names!" Samantha cried out, surprised and feeling stupid for forgetting them. "Did they pass? I can't thank them if they aren't here. Ugh, stupid! You should have asked for their names back then!"

Lightly hitting herself as she walked down the sidewalk, Samantha suddenly stopped as she noticed a large influx of teens around her age all wearing similar outfits. Noticing the familiar colors, Samantha looked down at her own outfit and realized that the boys and girls were wearing the same uniform as she was, and with hasty speed ran off in the direction they were going.

After maneuvering past the other students and getting a glimpse of the school gates, Samantha smiled and continued towards the gates with haste.

 _'I'm almost there! After all that stress, hard work, reading, dreaming, and test taking, I'm finally here! For real this time!'_ Samantha thought excitedly.

Not being able to contain the energy bubbling within her chest, Samantha couldn't help but ecstatically jump into the air with glee, a smile on her face. "Saotome Academy! Here I come!"

"Hey! Watch out!"

"Eh?" Still catching air within her jump, Samantha's ears perked up at the sound of someone yelling out, most likely to her. Looking downwards towards who had yelled at her display, Samantha squeaked in fear as she saw a student coming into her line of impact.

"Crap!" Not being able to stop her descent and unable to move out of the boy's way, Samantha gasped in pain as both her and the boy collided hard into each other, the force of the fall causing the boy to tip backwards and fall back onto the ground with Samantha on him.

* * *

As students walked around and gossiped over the weird display, Samantha groaned and moved her arms to remove herself from the ground. However noticing the ground below her was softer than usual, she gasped and moved back to get off whoever it was she had landed on, a look of surprise and apology on her face. Noticing the student to be around her size, Samantha frowned as the boy sat up, noticing the blonde hair that had now become ruffled in their collision. "A-Are you okay?!"

Groaning and growling a bit underneath his breath, Syo tiredly sat up and rubbed his slightly banged up head. "Who the hell jumps around and falls on somebody the first day of school?!"

Moving his gaze around the ground in search of something, Syo spotted his navy blue hat, the academy logo embroidered upon the side along with a neat looking ribbon tied around the body. Knowing it was expensive enough as it was, he grabbed it and quickly placed it on his head.

"You got some nerve falling on somebody like that buddy!" Syo said, trying to get the dirt off himself and adjusting his hat before angrily turning to point at the perpetrator. However when the boy had turned, all they saw was a female student bowing deeply towards the ground at them. "E-Eh?"

"I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" Samantha hastily replied in apology, keeping her face bowed to the ground at the boy in front of her. "I-I didn't mean to fall on you. I just got excited and jumped. I didn't think I'd fall onto anyone on the way down. You gotta believe me!"

 _'How could this happen on the first day?! I haven't even gotten through the front gates of the damn academy. This place had to of put a curse on me!'_ Samantha thought sadly, still keeping her head down at the boy.

A bit surprised that the person he collided with was a girl (who was practically bowing in apology to him), Syo nervously shifted his gaze to the side as students walked past them, muttering about what was going on.

"Y-You don't have to bow like that to me! Stop it! People are staring!" Syo yelled, his surprise adding to the volume of his voice while he tried to not make his situation look bad in front of the girls that passed by.

Hearing his request, Samantha shifted upwards from her position and nodded, feeling herself blush with embarrassment at Syo's words. "S-Sorry. Uhh..." Not sure what exactly she should say to try and make the situation better, Samantha's gaze headed towards the small bouquet of flowers her mother gave her. Hastily pulling one of the flowers from the bouquet, Samantha looked at Syo and pushed the carnation in the boy's face. "A-Apology flower!"

Seeing the flower being pushed into his vision, Syo looked at the girl in front of him, his face flushing with a sudden pink tone as it moved towards the flower in her hand. His vision continued to ping-pong back and forth for who knew how long before stopping back on the flower. "W-What?!"

"Apology flower! Please accept this as my forgiveness!" Samantha exclaimed, hoping the gesture would be enough to stop the boy's potential rage from earlier.

Not really sure what was going on anymore, Syo felt his face grow hotter with confusion as he watched the girl holding the flower to him give off worry and fear towards him. Knowing his answer was important to her, Syo gulped nervously and took the flower from Samantha's hands, trying to find his voice as he did so.

"I-It's cool. Just don't let it happen again!" Syo exclaimed in a matter of fact tone, though he tried to hide whatever crack in his voice attempted to come out.

Hearing his reply and smiling, Samantha once again bowed to Syo in thanks. "Thank you! Again, I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again. Promise!"

Feeling their conversation had gone on long enough and the boy probably wanted to not look a her anymore, Samantha hastily grabbed her bad and flowers before running off past the entrance gates and towards the orientation ceremony.

Left in his spot on the ground, Syo blinked a couple of times to try and focus on his surroundings. "W-What the heck just happened?"

Sitting there still in silence, Syo's gaze moved downwards to the flower in his hands. A small flower but blooming with life and dashed with light colors of white and blue. It really did remind him of the girl he had just met in the most awkward of ways. Looking at the flower a bit more, Syo placed the flora nearby his nose and took in the sweet smell it gave off.

"That girl was weird. Maybe I'll just call her flower girl if I ever see here aga-" Feeling his memory suddenly backtrack to his idol test in winter, Syo's mind warped back to a specific point.

He had seen something similar happen that day, he was sure.

A girl was running in the snow...She tripped by accident or something. He had seen it happen from his seat and it made him laugh.

 _'That girl from before...She looked a lot like...'_

"AHHH!" Suddenly realizing the connection, Syo quickly turned his body to try and call back to the girl who had run off. However she had already disappeared from view.

"Wait! Flower gir-I-I mean snow girl! Come back!"

* * *

"I can't believe that happened. What if I get reported? Or get expelled for that?!" Samantha asked worried as she headed towards the orientation assembly.

Stopping in her tracks, Samantha couldn't help but rub her hands through her hair in frustration. "I've already screwed myself over! How am I ever supposed to make friends if stuff like this keeps happening to me!?"

Not noticing a figure slowly approaching behind her, Samantha squeaked loudly as her sides were poked harshly by unknown fingers.

"UWAAH! I'm sorry! I'll give you another apology flower! I swear!" Samantha cried out, squirming in whoever's grip she was in.

"Eh? Apology flower? What are you screaming about?"

'Wait. That voice...'

Gaining control of her body again and slowly turning around, the blunette's first trait she spotted from the person behind her was fiery red hair. Second was the mystical purple-pink eyes that shined at her. Third and lastly was the large smile that was directed towards her, making Samantha smile back.

"Tomochika! I can't believe you're here!" Samantha gleefully replied as she wrapped her arms around the girl tightly.

Laughing at her reaction and hugging the petite blunette back, Tomochika released her and gave a peace sign. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm here. There was no doubt that I'd pass. Are you saying you didn't think I would?" Tomochika asked with mock suspicion.

Feeling herself freeze up on the spot, Samantha nervously shook her head. "N-No! Of course not! I just...uhhh"

Seeing Samantha freak out, Tomochika patted Samantha on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it Samantha. I'm just joking with you. No need to get worried."

Loosening up at Tomochika's joking personality, Samantha suddenly perked up when she had heard her name. "Hey, you said my name properly this time. I remember you had trouble with it last time."

"Well it wasn't easy, let me tell you. I had to find one of those language pronunciation things to help me figure out how to say your name and then had to pronounce it forever in front of my mirror until I got it right. But it wasn't too much trouble really." Tomochika replied with a wink. "Wouldn't be a good friend if I couldn't even say my friend's name right."

Hearing the word "friend" being used by Tomochika, Samantha couldn't help but give a grateful smile and feel her eyes water a bit. She felt like her day wasn't going as planned, but now here she was with a acquaintance she'd met during the test, talking and joking around. And now she already had her first friend.

Feeling a tear threaten to leave her eyes, Samantha lightly wiped her eyes and giggled. "Yeah, but I wouldn't hold it against you. You know that."

"That's kind of you. But enough about that. What's this about an apology flower you were screaming about earlier?" Tomochika asked, her eyes giving off a look of curiosity as she placed a hand on her chin and leaned towards Samantha.

Knowing she'd been caught with her earlier slip up, Samantha waved her hands in front of her to try and dissuade Tomochika's curiosity. "I-It's nothing. Or rather, it's a long story to explain."

"Well don't leave me hanging about it. We've got quite a bit of time before this orientation starts. You can tell me about it and what you've been up to while we wait. C'mon!"

* * *

Grabbing Samantha's hand and winking at her friend, Tomochika laughed as she dragged Samantha along with her towards the countless rows of chairs at the assembly, hoping to find a good enough spot to see everything while also getting the privacy they'd want.

"What?! You feel on somebody the first day!?" Tomochika cried out, making many of the students around where the two girls sat turn to look at them.

Seeing the stares they got, Samantha turned back to Tomochika and gave a quiet motion, susshing her. "Not so loud Tomochika. It wasn't as bad as it sounded...Kind of."

"Kind of? From what you tell me you jumped into the air and caught air for so long that when you fell you slammed into some guy and made the both of you fall over. And this guy yelled at you too. It sounds kind of bad to me." Tomochika replied shocked with a nod of her head.

"I guess. I mean I told him I didn't mean to. He probably knew I had "bumped" into him by accident. And it wasn't too much yelling. He forgave me after." Samantha replied thankfully.

"After you gave him a flower. Cute ones if I do say so myself." The red-head replied, lightly patting the lisianthus flower that was neatly placed in her hair thanks to Samantha's help. "I'm surprised he even took it."

"Me too. I'm sure he meant it when he accepted my apology, though it may have been because people were staring at us." Te blunette replied with a frown, uncertain exactly to what actually happened.

Shaking her head, Tomochika crossed her arms defiantly in her chair. "Well if it was the latter, I better not see him near you again. You apologized properly and meant it. If he's a jerk and doesn't accept it, I say ignore him."

Smiling at Tomochika's display, Samantha shook her head. "That's easy for you to say Tomochika. I don't know if I could just forget about it that easily."

Continuing their conversation over another four to five minutes, sudden whispers had caught the girls attention and looked towards where everyone was staring; the large assembly stage. With the large TV screen turning on to display effects of hearts, music notes, and stars, a neatly dressed figure stepped onto the stage and stopped at the microphone, most likely ready to speak.

"Who's that? Is that Shining Saotome?" Samantha asked, not sure f the mane was their principal.

Giggling, Tomochika shook her head. "No way. From what I hear Shining is this super cool and eccentric guy. The guy ip there looks like a bowl of bland white rice." The girl joked, the two staring off ahead to try and hear all the details that would be given out.

Clearing his throat, the well dressed man spoke through the microphone. "Welcome new students of Saotome Academy. Your entrance ceremony will now begin."

Feeling herself tense at the words spoken, Samantha breathed in to try an ready herself. _'This is it. I'm going to be studying here as a composer from now on.'_

"First a speech from your principal." The man spoke, turning his gaze to the backstage behind him.

Unfortunately, no sign of the great principal seemed to be in sight. Seconds continued to tick by, but still no word or sign of him appeared on stage. Soon enough people began to whisper, wondering where the principal had gone off to.

"You think he's late? Tomochika asked aloud, not sure as to what was going on.

"Not sure. He has to be coming. He wouldn't miss an entrance ceremony for students coming to his own school. I'm sure of it." Samantha replied, though hesitant worry filled her words.

After another minute of silence, a slow and soft chuckle began to fill the air. It was faint at first, but soon enough it began to grow in energy and volume, becoming louder and louder with each passing second. Soon enough it could be heard across the ceremony area, and the hearty words of the voice's owner spoke out to the students.

"Those who know nothing about love shouldn't sing! Leave this place!" The voice rang out loudly, the owner of the voice slowly walking into view from a rooftop of the academy, causing many students and people to gasp in fear and surprise.

Dressed in jester like clothing and holding a large orbed scepter, the figure laughed once more and stared at the crowd. "Your heart is the origin of music!"

"I-Is that the principal?" Tomochika asked in confusion, bot sure exactly to what she and Samantha were watching.

"I-I'm not sure." Samantha simply replied, just as confused as Tomichika as she watched the man on the roof.

Seeing he had gained the attention of the student's, the man laughed before jumping off the roof, causing screams and gasps to fill the audience. Continuing to fall to what seemed to be an inevitable death, the man suddenly moved away from the ground and swung himself upwards, flying over the students below with the help of wires attached to a harness on his body.

"What the hell!?" Watching the strange display go on, Samantha ducked in her seat as the jester cloaked man flew nearby her and Tomochika, moving her gaze to the man who seemed to keep flying around.

Moving around a bit more, the man finally stopped his tricks and stopped in midair, looking at all of the students beneath him. "Yes children. I am your principal, Shining Saotome! Welcome! Welcome, to Saotome Academy, the Shining World!"

Maneuvering himself and jumping down to the stage below, Saotome landed neatly on his feet and removed the jester clothing her wore, revealing a semi-casual light brown suit and polkadot tie around his neck. With his sunglasses glinting in the sunlight, Saotome began to do what appeared to be crazy and enthusiastic dance moves, displaying his energy to the crowd.

"Music is love! Enshrine your soul! Devote yourself to music! Make your life bloom! Make the multitudes grow!" Saotome continued, using the screen behind him to display countless hearts and stars as he made cutesy motions to the students in front of him.

"What the hell am I watching?" Samantha asked aloud, not very sure as to what was going on. The ceremony itself was weird enough with how it started, but the blunette knew she had never had a principal THIS weird before.

"Don't know. But at least he isn't boring." Tomochika said, moving her body in her seat to the music that was playing.

Raising his arms up high into the air, Saotome once again rose into the air and flew above the students, giving a peace sign as he moved around like he was walking on air and disappeared from view. "Congratulations on your admission! Thank you!"

With a sudden large bang, confetti cannons exploded, allowing colorful pieces of paper to fly around in the air and cover the students in their seats, cheering at the display of energy the principal had given them.

While students screamed with excitement and others like Tomochika turned to watch the principal fly off and cheer, Samantha simply sat in her seat, a look of confusion and disbelief all across her face, confetti falling into her hair.

"W-What the hell? That's the principal? What am I getting myself into?" Samantha asked out loud, blinking her eyes to try and readjust her vision and register everything that had happened.

The orientation allow showed this place was no ordinary academy and she was sure that everything she experienced here was going to change her life.


	4. Seven-Colored Compass

Welp, I finally got the chapter out. Tadaaa?

Ahhh! I'm so sorry! It shouldn't have taken so long to get this chapter out, but school was killer and I'm still dealing with college classes. Like, five of em, so please give me some slack! TAT

Thankfully this is done and spring break is coming up. Maybe I can get another chapter in between essays...

Anyways, sorry this took so long. The school was pretty hectic along with balancing work, so this had to go on hold for a pretty long time. But I'm hoping to work on this more soon, so I thank you if you are still reading this.

Oh, and if you didn't notice, there will be a short change in the story structure. Or rather the characters that are involved. I've been debating whether to have this go the OCxSyo route or OCxTokiya route and have been unsure of how to make it work. However after long debate, I think I'm going to have both in, the two boys vying for the OC's attention until one comes out on top.

And perhaps another...If you read the chapter, you'll figure out who's the third "prince". ;3

So without further ado, please enjoy this very long awaited chapter of Awakening the Sleeping Princess Within You!

Disclaimer: I do not own Uta no Prince Sama nor Pokemon.

* * *

"H-How was that really a thing? Tomochika, you watched the same orientation right? I wasn't seeing things?" Samantha constantly questioned to her friend as the two walked side by side down the hallway.

Ever since the weird event known as Saotome Academy's orientation had ended, the blunette felt like a fish out of water after just getting out of her seat. Were all orientations like that? Everyone seemed particularly surprised at first, but later got over it and just cheered as the so-called principal had flown over the students and danced around while explaining his joy for the new school year.

Had she fallen into some weird anime where crazy occurrences were just normal? Or were the things she was used to in America done differently in Japan? She hadn't lived there too long, but she was pretty sure everything still worked normally like most other places.

Seeing the still fresh shock on Samantha's face, Tomochika chuckled and poked the girl's face as she turned a corner. "You must not have heard of Shining Saotome before. A lot of foreigners who meet him get really confused by his energy like you. Don't worry, everything you saw was real. He's just an insane guy in a sane world. It's sort of something to expect out of the super idol Shining Saotome."

"Super idol?" Samantha asked, unfamiliar with the extravagant title Tomochika used.

"You didn't know? Shining Saotome was like this crazy popular idol back in his youth. All the money he made from selling twenty million CDs of his famous song was made to make this academy." Tomochika casually explained with a knowing smirk.

"Eh?! T-Twenty-million?!" Samantha stuttered in shock, not sure she had heard the number right at first. "T-Twenty-million...And just for one song. How can I compete with something like that?"

"Hey, nobody said we were trying to match Shining. We just do our work the way we like it and do our best. Can't copy off others." Tomochika said, patting Samantha on the back.

"Y-Yeah. I guess you're right about that." Samantha said, looking at the many doors the two students passed before finally stopping at one. Looking above to see the plaque that signified the classroom, Samantha pointed it to Tomochika. "So this is it right? A-Class is ours right?"

Taking a look at a slip of paper in her pocket, Tomochika nodded her head. "That's what it says on our directions. Head to the classroom which we are assigned to. Class A is both of ours."

Not sure if she wanted to go in just yet, Samantha shifted her gaze to Tomochika. "You think everyone in there is nice?"

"Eh, probably. We're all here to learn music after all. If anybody has trouble with us, we can just ignore them. Now let's go in already." Tomochika replied, grabbing onto Samantha's wrist and dragging her along into the classroom.

Feeling herself being dragged into the classroom, Samantha followed after Tomochika if only to keep her balance, passing the doorway and stumbling a bit on her feet. Thankfully not falling over, Samantha felt her wrist being let go and slowly took in the surroundings of the classroom.

It did look a lot nicer than the schools she went to in America. Cleaner desks and floors made of polished wood, neatly decorated shelves and bookcases colored in forest greens and auburn red and browns, a large chalkboard at the front of the class for lessons, and a large beautiful onyx black piano neatly placed in the back of the room.

 _'The money Saotome had made really didn't go to waste on aesthetic, that's for sure.'_ Samantha thought, staring at the many expensive looking pieces in the room around her.

"Ah! It's you!"

While she had heard the sudden exclamation in the room, Samantha had never though the comment was directed towards her. But seeing as a mass in the corner of her eye was moving towards her, Samantha suddenly turned around to see who exactly yelled at her, unsure if the person was friendly or not.

However what shocked them more than an unfamiliar face was actually a familiar one. Short, yet spiky fiery red hair, matching red eyes, and a bright smile like the sun. It could only be one person...

"Ah! Mystery boy one!" Samantha herself yelled out, suddenly pointing to the boy in exclamation. However as soon as the words left her mouth, the teen easily noticed the many stares that were focused her way, including those of the surprised mystery boy one and confused Tomochika. Realizing her mistake, Samantha swiftly moved her hand down to her side and stared down at the floor. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell or point." She replied in a hushed whisper.

Noticing her embarrassment, the boy raised his hands up to try and calm down Samantha. "D-Don't worry about it. It was my fault for yelling at you first. I probably shouldn't have surprised you like that."

"Wait wait wait!" Tomochika called out, holding her hands out to signal the conversation to a halt, swiftly moving to Samantha's side. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Tomochika pulled Samantha off to the side and moved her close and quietly spoke. "What's going on here? You know that guy? And what's with the mystery boy one stuff?"

Feeling as if she were in an interrogation, Samantha laughed nervously and smiled. "Well...it's kind of a long story. You see he...uh, mystery boy one, he helped me out during my entrance exam. I almost didn't get in without him and another guy's help."

"What?! And you didn't tell me this story? How could you leave your best friend out like that Samantha?" Tomochika asked in surprise, shaking the girl by the shoulders at the revelation.

"I-I-I'm S-sorry Tomochika." Samantha sputtered out, removing herself out of the crazy grip of her friend to get her bearings. Slowly getting her sight back in focus, Samantha turned back to the mystery boy and gave a proper bow. "Thanks a lot for earlier. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten into the entrance exams."

Seeing her bow, the boy shook his head and felt his cheeks redden slightly. "I-It was nothing. Really it wasn't. I'm just happy to know you got in. And we're in the same class too!" The boy replied, giving a thumbs up.

Raising her head back up, Samantha noticed the and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I actually got worried. I hadn't gotten your name during the exam, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to thank you properly if you hadn't been here."

"You've already thanked me enough. There's no need to worry about it. I'm Ittoki Otoya by the way. It's nice to finally officially meet you umm.." Otoya replied, reaching his hand out to Samantha in a proper greeting.

Reaching her own smaller handout, Samantha gently grasped Otoya's and shook. "Samantha..uh, Kisaragi Samantha. I know, my name is a bit hard to pronounce, so you can just call me Kisaragi. I don't mind."

Hearing Samantha introduce herself, Otoya's eyes grew wide with curiosity. "It sounds foreign. Are you not from here? If I'm allowed to ask of course."

"Well, yeah. It's kind of obvious. I moved her a couple years back with my mom from America. I'm still getting used to everything. It's only pure luck I've learned to speak and read Japanese so far. You don't know how tough it was to read through that whole test." Samantha joked, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"And I'm Shibuya Tomochika by the way. Don't forget I'm here you two." Tomochika joked, appearing next to Samantha and poking her head between the two with a smile.

"Don't worry Tomochika, we didn't forget you. We were just catching up." Samantha said, looking at her friend with a joking shake of her head.

"E-li-za-beth!"

Not familiar with the voice suddenly yelling in the classroom, Otoya momentarily moved his gaze from Samantha and Tomochika towards whoever seemed to be yelling.

However what he wasn't ready to see was a blonde boy wearing glasses, taller than him by quite a bit, running towards the group at a quick pace. Not sure what exactly was going on, his disbelief only went further when the boy suddenly jumped into the air, seemingly hoping to lands towards them.

 _'W-What do I do!?'_ Otoya thought in confusion, not sure how he should react to the situation.

However, it seemed another student was nearby and ready to intervene in the situation. Not being able to get a good look at the new boy, Otoya noticed a blue-haired boy grab onto Samantha's arm, pulling her quickly to the side and out of harm's way.

 _'Oh good. She's safe.'_ Otoya thought relaxed. Happy to know his new friend wasn't going to be hurt by the falling boy, Otoya felt a light surprised when he felt a small push from the blue-haired boy. 'Eh?'

Feeling himself close to falling, Otoya carefully caught himself and wobbled off into where Samantha had been originally standing. Feeling himself freeze up at the realization, Otoya quickly turned to look upwards and shut his eyes when he felt the arms and legs of the unknown boy suddenly wrap around him.

Not sure exactly what was happening, all Otoya could do was simply yell and trying to wiggle his arms and legs out of the boy's grasp. "Wahhh! Let go of me!" Feeling whoever it was had latched onto him let go and jump off, all the effort Otoya had done to push the boy off had ruined his balance, only making the fiery haired boy to fall to the ground with a thud.

Everything really was happening fast today. First her new day at school, her accidentally colliding into a boy at the front gate, the weird principal of the school, meeting Tomochika and Otoya again after the entrance exam, and now she was nearly glomped by some boy in her class.

Did she attract weird things? Was that why so much stuff was happening to her today?

 _'What just happened? I know I felt somebody tug on my arm.'_ Samantha thought. It was only a moment later she realized that she was being held onto by her savior. Turning her head to look to the person who saved her, Samantha suddenly felt her face grow warm realizing just how close she was with her "savior".

Merely inches close to one another, the boy was surely at least three or four inches taller than her. With clean cut short hair that had a light color blue than her own, the boy had nearly flawless light skin, aqua blue eyes, and a beauty mark just underneath his right eye.

 _'Oh my God! He's handsome!'_ Samantha shrieked in her thoughts, feeling as if the air in her lungs had just been taken away.

Seeing Samantha stare at him, the boy merely looked to the blunette with a serious yet poised expression. "That was a close one."

Trying to get her train of thought back up and running, Samantha swiftly pulled herself out of the boy's arms, twirling a bit as she did so, and straightened herself back up, leaning on a desk with her hand as support as she nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah! Thanks, dude!"

Hearing her thanks, the boy simply closed his eyes and nodded. "There's no need for thanks."

A bit unsure of his lack of emotion or interest in the situation, Samantha stared at the unknown boy until moving her gaze over to the interesting situation that was Otoya, Tomochika, and the blonde boy. Deciding it be best to check out what had caused all of this mess, Samantha walked over to stand next to Tomochika. "Uhh...so what's your reason for almost jumping me in the middle of class?"

"Yeah! What was all of that for? You need to watch where you're going." Tomochika lectured to the blonde boy, seeing him turn around and frown.

"Oh. I'm sorry. It's just she looks so much like Elizabeth, I lost control." The bespectacled boy said sadly, moving his hand up to motion to Samantha.

Unexpectedly hearing yet another foreign name, Tomochika's previous anger slowly died down and was replaced with confusion as she tried to repeat the foreign name. "E-Eli?"

Hearing his strange explanation, Samantha raised an eyebrow at the boy. "I look like some girl named Elizabeth? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

Laughing, the boy shook his head. "Oh, no. Elizabeth is my family's dog." The boy replied before suddenly gaining a sad look, hugging his body with his own arms. "Ah, my sweet and small Elizabeth. I had to leave her since I was accepted here, and we've been torn apart ever since!"

Hearing his answer, Samantha gave an uncertain look to the boy. Soon enough that look of uncertainty morphed into a frown, which later changed into a thin line as she analyzed the words, until lastly shifting into a frown along with a tiny glare heading into the boys' direction. "I do not look like a dog! I may not be the prettiest girl, but I'm not that bad looking!"

"Wow, wow. Relax Samantha. Don't bite his head off. He's a classmate." Tomochika spoke up, putting her hands on the petite girls' shoulders to help relax her, along with holding her down in case there was any trouble. "You better apologize before you get attacked by a tiny American new guy."

Worry appearing on his bespectacled face, the blonde boy nodded appropriately and bowed politely. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in any bad way. It was a compliment, honest. Please let me introduce myself properly." Raising his head up, the boy showed off a kind and bright smile to the group of teens, reaching his hand out to the still fuming Samantha. "I'm Shinomiya Natsuki. I love small and cute things."

"Small and cute stuff huh?" Samantha said, staring down at the boy's hand. Eyes flickering back and forth from his hand and face to see if he was doing anything sneaky, Samantha slowly reached her own hand out before grasping it in her own and shook it, giving a nod to the boy. "Nice to meet you...I guess. I'm Samantha. Kisaragi Samantha."

"You're name is so cute and unique too. It had to be more than just a coincidence we met today." It was only after taking his hand from Samantha and finishing his latest comment that he noticed the adorable hairpin the blunette was wearing.

Eyes widening like dish plates and sparkling like stars, Natsuki pointed to the hairpin that neatly decorated Samantha's blue hair. "Ah! That's such a cute Pikachu hair pin! It looks really nice on you."

Feeling herself blush at the sudden compliment, Samantha moved her hand to lightly touch the pin. "T-Thank you. My mom gave it to me as a congratulatory gift. I didn't think anybody at a music school would really care about Pokemon still."

Shaking his head, Natsuki smiled and nodded energetically. "Who wouldn't?! I love Pokemon! I used to play the games all the time when I was little. I especially love to collect the cutest Pokemon plushes if I ever get the chance. Like Pichu, Jigglypuff, Sylveon, and Popplio! They may even rival the cuteness of Piyo-chan." It was just after speaking that Natsuki's face lit up and he raised a finger up to get the petite blunette's attention. "Ah! I got it! You may remind me of Elizabeth, but you're just as cute and spirited as any Rockruff!"

Raising an eyebrow at Natsuki's latest compliment, the scarlet-haired girl wracked her mind for the right image of the Pokemon Natsuki spoke of, frowning. "Isn't Rockruff a Pokemon that looks like a dog?"

"Well, yeah it is," Samantha spoke up, though she was keeping her face turned away from Natsuki. "I'm...okay with that compliment."

Shocked, both Otoya and Tomochika turned their heads to the smaller teen. "You're okay with that?!"

"S-Shut up! Rockruff is super cute! It's way better to be compared to than an actual dog!" The blunette retorted back, her face flushing a bit at the observation. Wanting to move her gaze away from Tomochika's joking, Samantha shifted her eyes to another part of the classroom only to spot the blue haired boy who had helped her moments ago.

 _'Oh, he's been listening to this entire conversation. He probably thinks I'm some crazy American.'_ Samantha thought, unsure of how to respond or talk to the staring boy.

Leaning on a desk and simply listening to the conversations going around the room, the boy looked over to see Samantha staring at him. Simply closing his eyes and lulling his head to the side, the boy spoke as he turned and walked off to his desk. "I'm Hijirikawa Masato."

Following Samantha's gaze to Masato, Otoya smiled and spoke up in a friendly tone. "Masato? Well, we can call you Masa than! And Natsuki Na-chan. Right?"

Raising his eyebrows at the new nickname, Natsuki thought over it before smiling back. "Na-chan! I like it. It's so cute. And Masa sounds perfect for Hijirikawa-san."

Not wanting to add much to the conversation, Masato shrugged his shoulders and let the nickname slide. "It's fine. Call me whatever you'd like."

"Masa it is then. Let's hope you don't get tired of that after the first few times." Tomochika joked, making her, Natsuki, and Otoya laugh.

Laughing along with the group at the newfound nicknames for each other, Samantha let her eyes wander around the room to inspect more of her new classroom setting. However, as she did so, the American noticed something a little odd.

People, or rather fellow students, were staring at them. Was it because they were being so loud? That may have been the case. After all, Samantha was sure nobody wanted to have their first day at a new school be ruined by having to deal with loud people.

 _'Oh no. I'm becoming those jerks I had to ignore in middle school. How the turns have tabled.'_ Samantha mused, frowning to herself at the realization settling in.

"Wait, that's not-" Realizing her mistake, Samantha was about ready to try and repeat the saying properly, until suddenly the curtains of the classroom began to shut on their own, making the classroom dim significantly to nearly unseeable levels. Her fear of the dark crawling back up her spine, Samantha hastily latched onto the nearest person to hug onto, that being Tomochika. "Ah! Who turned out the lights?!"

"S-Samantha, calm down!" Tomochika said, nearly falling over as the smaller girl clutched to her. "Who did turn out the lights?"

"Wait, is that music?" Otoya spoke up, his eyes darting back and forth as a low music tune of trumpets began to slowly burst through the room.

The volume getting a little louder and louder with each passing second, lights of various colors from hidden projectors appeared out of nowhere, covering the ceiling in red, blue, yellow, green, and purple hues in a flashy way. As the trumpet tune slowly came to its close, a voice called out from out of thin air, signaling the students to turn to the chalkboard.

"Good morning!" The voice called out. The colorful lights flying around the room a few more times, they hastily converged towards the front of the classroom, merging together into a fabulous spotlight for the figure standing at the chalkboard. Wearing a classy yet comfortable yellow sweater, a flower hairband neatly placed in long curly locks of bubblegum-colored hair, and light aqua blue eyes staring out to the crowds of teens, a female figure stood with a smile.

Clapping to get everyone's attention, the unknown woman motioned the students to get to their seats. "All right everyone. Please, take a seat."

"Ahh! Tsukimiya Ringo!"

"I can't believe someone A-list is here!"

"It's a dream come true!"

Following instructions and heading towards the closest front row seat, Samantha listened in on many of the other comments floating around the room. Was this person super important?

Winking at the gushing students, Ringo smiled and pointed to themselves. "I am the maidenly Tsukimiya Ringo. I'll be in charge of A-Class. Just call me Ring-sensei." Spinning on his heels, Ringo kissed his fingers and raised them to the side in a cute pose, winking at the students once more. "Nice to meet you!"

Taking in the new introduction, Samantha slowly moved her head over to Tomochika and whispered. "Are all of the teachers here...energetic like Shining?"

Not sure exactly how to answer, Tomochika shrugged. "Maybe not as crazy. I'm still trying to get over the fact that he's a guy."

"Yeah. That...eh?" Samantha stopped talking mid-sentence, Tomochika's words muddling her thoughts. She...had heard that right, right? Their teacher, who looked like a really pretty lady, was actually...

"What?! That's a guy?!" Samantha exclaimed, shock reaching every corner of her face at the news. It wasn't like cross-dressing was a very new thing or something she didn't know about. It was something sort of known about back in America, and Samantha herself had seen girls and boys cross-dressing every now and then whether it be in real life or in pictures.

But never anything this good!

Hastily covering her mouth somewhat and keeping close to Tomochika, Samantha turned her head to talk directly to her friend. "How does he look so good? Is he using black magic?"

"Are you serious?" Tomochika asked back, sweat dropping at the outlandish question.

"Eh?!" The sound of Tsukimiya Ringo chimed, their eyes glaring right in the direction of Samantha's desk. Heels clicking with every fast paced step, the pink-haired teacher stopped at the girls' desk and slammed his hand on top of it, getting the teens' attention. "I can't believe you've never heard of Tsukimiya Ringo."

"Uhhh..." Samantha answered back, a mix of shock and fear on her face at the sudden confrontation from her newfound teacher.

Moving his face in closer to the shellshocked girl, Ringo continued his rant. "The best way to make it on T.V. is to have an impact. Everyone knows that."

"O-Of course! I understand, sir! Uhh..I-I mean ma'am! Uhhh...S-Sensei!" Samantha constantly chirped back, correcting herself every moment she could to try and appease her new teacher.

"Good." Releasing a heated huff from his lips, Ringo turned his back to Samantha and casually walked back up to the front, leaving the confused blunette alone.

Shaking a little in her chair from the encounter, Samantha released a long-awaited sigh, letting her body go boneless in an attempt to release the stress in her body. Slowly sinking into her chair, Samantha groaned to Tomochika. "I-I think our teacher hates me already."

Shaking a bit herself, Tomochika patted Samantha's head. "I'm so sorry. Hang in there."

"Now where was I?" Ringo called out, placing an innocent finger to his chin in thought. Snapping his fingers as his train of thought came back into its station, Ringo smiled and looked back at the students. "Ah, of course! Without further ado, welcome all to Saotome Academy!"

"Y-Yay." Samantha quietly cheered from her seat as she sat back up properly. Hoping to better manage herself and at least look like she belonged, Samantha set herself up in her chair and stared back at the board in anticipation.

Noticing the fearful girl, Ringo shook his head with a playful smile at the sight of Samantha and continued. "As you all know, Saotome Academy is a training school for idols and the composers who write their music. The facilities and environment here are the best in the world, so you couldn't have picked a better place to be. Active idols are assigned to every class, and the other teachers are all famous lyricists and composers."

A sneaky grin showing up on his face, Ringo leaned down a little to give a face to face comment to the class. "If you do well, you might even make your professional debut. So let's give it everything you've all got!" He energetically finished, pulling himself back up and winking at the teens.

"A professional debut?" Samantha repeated quietly, the words echoing in her head.

 _'This is it. I'm really in a place that could get me in the music business. This isn't some crazy dream I'm having in my bed. This is the real deal.'_ Samantha concluded, her hands closing into tiny fists underneath her desk.

Her nerves were already in overdrive.

* * *

"I can't believe how much trouble you get yourself into!" Tomochika loudly commented next to Samantha, the two heading into the large cafeteria for their lunch.

Her confidence deflating at each word, Samantha dragged her feet across the floor to the food lines. "You don't have to say it that badly. It's not like I asked for this."

Seeing her friend fall into a slump, Tomochika patted Samantha on the shoulder for comfort. "S-Sorry. It's just all of this stuff you told me about is kind of piling up. First, you nearly got kicked out of the entrance exam. Then, you accidentally jumped right into that guy this morning, and now you've sort of pissed off our homeroom teacher." Tomochika listed off before laughing loudly, pretending to wipe a tear from her eyes. "It's really funny when you think about it all."

"Funny for who? I'm not laughing!" Samantha complained, waving her arms around frantically to prove her point. Tired, she let her arms fall to her sides and sighed. "Maybe this is a sign. Like the God, Gods, Goddesses or whatever of music don't want me here."

"Wow, don't think that. You're just having a rough day is all. It'll get better, trust me." Tomochika spoke up cheerfully, bumping her shoulder with Samantha in an attempt to get her to smile.

Feeling her friend tap her shoulder, Samantha felt her depression slowly slink away, yet it still lingered on her face. "I don't see how."

"Well, how about food? Good food can fix any problem." Tomochika suggested, her eyes gazing up at the fancy calligraphy of the menus.

Various colorful pictures lined up against one another, each showcasing a type of food and a line that was made for each dish. The food ranged from all over, from pasta, to rice, to ramen, and even curry. The combinations and amounts seemed endless, but just the right amount of types of food for everyone to get a good selection.

"Ooh, they've got hamburgers! Would that help? Or maybe some curry?" Tomochika playfully suggested, leaning over to the tiny composer and grinning. "C'mon, you look like a girl who enjoys the food. Which one do you want?"

Saying nothing at first to hold out against her friend, Samantha's brown irises slowly drifted up to the plentiful menus of color, wandering to each picture. Feeling her face blush a bit, Samantha looked away from Tomochika as she spoke. "I want ramen."

"Ne, you got to speak up Sam-chan." Tomochika playfully spoke back, leaning to Samantha to hear her better.

Blushing even more at the added honorific, Samantha moved her eyes upwards to look over at her friend and showed a tiny smile. "I want beef ramen. It sounds really good right now."

"There's that smile. And it's a good thing you chose ramen too. I think it's going to run out first." Tomochika pointed out, moving her finger to show the long line for the Japanese noodles. "You better hurry before they run out."

"What? There's no way I'm missing out on beef ramen! Where's that dumb food card I got!?" Samantha exclaimed, frantically searching through her pockets for the tiny pink plastic card. Digging her hand into her right-hand pocket in her blazer, Samantha felt her hand collide with a familiar flat surface and hastily pulled the food card out of her jacket. "Yes, success! Now to get that ramen!"

Running off towards the line Tomochika had pointed out, Samantha carefully maneuvered around the taller students scrambling for the own food and payments. Muttering a couple of "excuses me's", "sorry", and "you're crushing me", Samantha had nearly made it to the line she'd been after...

That was until she felt her leg get tangled with another student.

Unable to pull her leg from out of the mess of students behind her as she ran, the American felt her heart leap out of her chest as her body felt like it was being pulled down by gravity. Unable to slow down her descent, she'd resigned herself to yet again falling flat on her face for the third time at this school, but just as she knew she was going to taste tile floor, she...stopped?

"Oi, you okay flower girl?"

"Huh, flower?" Hearing someone call out to her, Samantha looked up to see yet another familiar face, or rather a face she'd seen at least. Standing the same height as her with short blonde hair and light aqua blue eyes, the boy she'd fell onto earlier that day looked down at her, along with his arms wrapped around her.

"Oh, it's you again!" Samantha answered in shock. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon. Or at least not in another circumstance of falling."

Shaking his head at her answer, the boy helped Samantha back onto her feet and handed her dropped lunch card. "You said it. I hope you aren't trying to be an idol. You're dancing is going to be a problem." The boy joked with a smile.

Taking the lunch card from him, Samantha smiled back. "Don't worry, I'm not. Thanks for the assist anyway. And if you need to call out to me, the name is Samantha. Kisaragi Samantha."

A curious look on his face after her introduction, the boy nodded while his eyes closed in thought. "Sa...Su...I'm not good with foreign names. I'll just call you Kisaragi." His eyes opening wide and giving an energetic smile, the boy pointed a thumb in his direction. "The name is-"

"Shorty. That's the boy's name." A deep voice spoke from the crowd.

Anger swelling through his being, the short blonde gripped his hand into a fist, along with his teeth grinding against one another. "My name isn't shorty, Ren! It's Syo! Kurusu Syo!"

"Huh? Ren?" Samantha repeated the name, unsure of who Syo was referring to. Seeing the anger radiate off him and watch him turn in the direction of whoever had spoken, Samantha's eyes gazed through the crowd until finally spotting who the blonde was looking at.

A tall figure among many and surrounded by smiling and fawning girls, a boy with a fabulous figure stood out in the crowd of students. Long strawberry blonde hair, deep blue eyes that pierced through every girl's heart, and an aura radiating cool.

 _'Wait a second. Isn't that...'_ Trying to piece together where she thought she'd seen this boy before, something deep inside her head clicked, making the blunette jump in surprise.

"Ah! It's you! Mystery boy #2!" Samantha exclaimed, pointing a frantic finger towards the familiar face of mystery boy #2.

"Eh? Mystery boy?" Syo asked, not sure what she was referring to.

Seeing the girl point right at him, the boy now known as Ren, laughed heartily and walked slowly over to the two shorter teens. Giving one of his trademark smiles to Samantha, Ren gave a nonchalant wink. "It's good to see you again, my lady. I'm glad to see you got in."

Tensing up a bit at the gaze of the taller boy, Samantha rubbed the back of her neck. "Thanks. I tried really hard that day to pass. But I never got to thank you properly. So, thanks a lot. I owe you big time. Ren, right?"

"Jinguji Ren is his name." A voice spoke out in the crowd.

Hearing yet another voice chimed into the conversation, Samantha turned her head back to see who had spoken and looked in surprise at the sight of Hijirikawa Masato, the boy who had helped her in class. "Ah, Masato. What's up?"

Smirking at the appearance of the quieter boy, Ren placed his hands in his pockets and walked away from Syo and Samantha, heading in Masato's direction. "You're as stiff as ever."

"And you're just as flippant in your comments." Masato retorted back, keeping to where he stood and eyed the playboy.

The two continuing their short stare off, Samantha frowned a little at the tense air going on between the two boys. The way they stared at each other, the joking and contrasting cold gaze between them didn't look to be anything friendly.

"What?! Your mystery boy #2 was Jinguji Ren!?" Tomochika exclaimed, suddenly appearing next to Samantha without warning,

Jumping in surprise, the blunette turned her head from the two glaring boys to Tomochika. "W-When did you get here?"

"That's not important. This event we're seeing right now is. And you still didn't answer my question, Samantha." Tomochika exclaimed, her eyes staring intently at the scene going on in front of the two girls.

Letting whatever Tomochika did to get next to her slide, Samantha went back to remember what her friend had said. "Jinguji Ren? What's the big deal? He's helped me back at the entrance exam with Otoya."

"It is a big deal, though," Tomochika answered, nodding her head energetically. "Jinguji Ren is really famous. He's the heir to the Jinguji conglomerate." She explained, pointing a finger to Ren's form.

"Oh?" Samantha answered, unsure of how she should take the news.

"And Hijirikawa Masato is the heir to the Hijirikawa conglomerate. The two are rival companies." Tomochika added, pointing her finger now to Masato.

"Oh. I guess that's kind of a big deal. Though I don't really see why." Samantha answered honestly, trying to figure out all the details in her head.

"I expected you to be a little more freaked out. You aren't even the least bit surprised by this?" Tomochika asked, her face showing shock at the lack of surprise on her friend's face.

"Well, you hear a lot about this crazy stuff with companies and family stuff in America. I suppose it's just more of a big deal here since that type of stuff is more secluded in media." Samantha answered, shrugging her shoulders. Keeping her eyes on the pair of heir's, Samantha frowned at the sight of the two talking to one another. "They...aren't going to fight right?"

"And create bad publicity for their companies? No way." Tomochika replied, shaking her head. "But I'm sure those two are going to battle it out with their music. It'll be especially big since one of them is in S-class."

 _'S-class huh? What could it be like?'_ Samantha wondered.

Deciding it be best to take care of her own business, Samantha shrugged her shoulders and motioned for Tomochika to follow her. "C'mon. It's rude to stare and butt into other's private stuff. We need to grab our food anyways."

"Ah, good idea. We wouldn't want to miss out on the good food." Tomochika agreed, following after Samantha towards the necessary lines.

* * *

"How's your ramen, Samantha? Any good?" Tomochika asked, placing a french fry in her mouth and licking her lips at the delicious taste.

Sitting comfortably in her chair at a table across from Tomochika, Samantha grabbed at her chopsticks and stared intently at the pieces of noodle in her bowl evading her grasp. "I'd tell you if I could get any in my mouth. Curse the person who thought using two sticks to eat your food was a good idea. I knew I should have grabbed a fork instead."

Laughing at her friend's misery, Tomochika got out of her seat and walked behind Samantha. Placing her larger hands to wrap around Samantha's own, Tomochika carefully navigated Samantha's fingers into the proper position to hold the chopsticks. "Hold them like this. You'll be able to grab the noodles much more easily."

Feeling the brush of Tomochika's fingers on her own, Samantha blushed a bit and nodded. She didn't know why, but the contact made her heart jump a little bit. "T-Thanks."

"Heh, no prob," Tomochika responded, walking back to her seat and casually dropping back down to rest. "I still can't believe we've made it this far. Saotome Academy really is something else."

"I know what you mean," Samantha replied, grabbing the noodles like Tomochika had shown her and stuffing some into her mouth. "It felt impossible to just get a chance to take the exam, but now I'm sitting in a super fancy cafeteria at the school. It feels like everything rushed by so fast." Swallowing down her food, the blunette sighed in content. "And everyone here is so different from what I expected."

Snorting a bit at the observation, Tomochika shrugged her shoulders. "What were you expecting for a school of composers and idols? Like it would be a normal high school?"

"Well, kind of," Samantha answered back, stirring the noodles in her bowl. "I thought everyone would get along and chat casually like in middle school. But everyone here sort of has this...air to them. I'm not sure if I can explain it right. Not to mention I've had the worst luck since I've stepped foot on campus."

Tossing a french fry into her mouth, Tomochika smiled to her confused friend. "You call it bad luck, but I call it pure luck. Nobody ever gets to be near this many cute guys so fast Sam. You've even talked to Jinguji Ren and Hijirikawa Masato. Those two are big names! Plus all of these guys we've seen so far are pretty cute." Sighing and crossing her arms over her chest confidently, Tomochika leaned back in her seat. "Yep, the girls here probably don't know what to do with all of these princes around."

Taking another bite of her delicious noodles, Samantha slurped a bit into her mouth and looked at her friend. "Primphs?" She asked, her mouth still a bit full with noodles.

"Uh huh." Nodding in agreement, Tomochika suddenly gained an unsure look, looking up at the ceiling to go through her thoughts. "Though since we're in a music school, they should probably be called princes of song. Or something like that." Tomochika guessed, shrugging her shoulders and smiling to her friend.

Slurping down her food and wiping her face, Samantha slowly let what Tomochika spoke sink into her thoughts. "Princes huh? So, does that make us princesses of song?" She asked curiously to her friend, smiling and shrugging herself.

Raising an eyebrow at the question, Tomochika grinned wider and nodded. "I guess it does. But, I don't think princesses stuff their mouths full of noodles. Like somebody, I may know." Tomochika commented in a sing-song tone, playfully raising her eyebrows up and down while looking to the blunette who just so happened to be stuffing said food down her throat.

Taking another bite of her food and letting some noodles hang a little on her chin at her poor attempt to put everything into her mouth, Samantha caught Tomochika's obvious jab at her and shifted her brown eyes up to her friend. Eyes widening for a moment, the blue-haired teen chewed on her food and swallowed it down, her face heating up from more than just the hot food.

"I-I can't be a princess of song on an empty stomach. I'm not gonna starve myself." Samantha spoke up in a matter of fact tone, though her voice cracked a little near the end, making her sink into her chair further, and once again began to slurp down her noodles.

All she could hear after that for the rest of her lunch was Tomochika's laughter, along with a few awkward stares from fellow students wondering why they were being so loud.

* * *

"This is so great! I still can't believe the luck we got to be roommates." Tomochika exclaimed, smiling as she stood in their small dorm room and scanning around the walls and space they had.

Lunch had long since passed for the two girls, with the two casually looking around the school long after they finished eating, and Samantha apologizing profusely as she walked out for the loud behavior. Thankfully able to maneuver her way around the school much better than she had that morning, Samantha, with the help of Tomochika, was able to locate some important places she knew she'd need to find in order to better her skills in music.

The library that was stacked to the brim with books on music, its history in various cultures, and the genres and composition notes of famous singers and writers.

Spare music rooms that held chalkboards, pianos, even other various instruments to practice with for music lessons and composing.

The recording room that would allow them chances to record actual songs they wrote and sang on their own.

There were more, but Samantha did not want to list all of them in her head. There was a much more pressing matter she and Tomochika had to get through anyways.

Well, that was unless Tomochika would actually do it.

"It is pretty crazy," Samantha spoke, heading towards a pile of boxes that contained some of her things and opened it. "Now all we have to do is start unpacking. We'll want to do it all tonight so we don't fall behind on classes tomorrow." She said, her voice slowly building with excitement with each word she spoke.

Groaning, Tomochika lazily headed to her designated bed and flopped tiredly onto it face first. Not caring if her hair became a mess, the redhead rubbed her face into the soft sheets and groaned further, lifting her head up to look at the meticulous unpacking machine that was her roommate. "How can you have the energy to unpack now of all times? Aren't you tired of everything we did today?"

Laughing a little at how tired Tomochika sounded, Samantha took out some extra notebooks and placed them on their shared desk, adding more writing utensils as she spoke. "A little, but to be honest I'm more excited than ever now. While the opening ceremony was a little crazy and I crashed into that guy by accident and got scolded a little by our teacher today, it has been a pretty good day overall."

Finishing the first box of school supplies, Samantha tossed it to the other end of the room and went to the next box, opening it up. "I just want to get started on learning about music and see what kind I can create."

"You sound really passionate about it. Do you have some kind of dream you're striving for?" Tomochika asked, rolling onto her stomach and staring at her friend.

Samantha's hands stopped their movements in the latest box, flinching for a moment at Tomochikas' question.

A dream? She did have one...right?

She wanted to go into the world of music, delve herself right into it and create things only she knew she could. She would bring out sounds and songs so beautiful, inspiring, energetic, even romantic, that people all across the world would listen to and love.

She'd be bringing music to the world as. . . . . .

 _'A composer.'_ Samantha thought, a frown gracing her hidden features from her roommate. _'That's what I am now. I write the music now. I won't be singing.'_

How could she? She loved music. Loved with all her heart and soul. She couldn't live without it. The energy, the sweet sounds music made, the feelings it conveyed to others. All of it wrapped together and springing to life with the help of a singer made music worth living for.

She had the voice of an angel, like her mom and many others told her when she was young. She knew she did for the longest time, but...she couldn't do it on her own. She couldn't go out to the crowds and bare her voice out for all to hear on a large stage by herself. She'd tried that so many times when she was younger. The stage always won in the end, and she was left shaking in her shoes and unable to utter a single sound.

It had never been like that for long. At least, not until _she_ had come along. With _her_ , by Samantha's side, she'd been able to sing, unafraid of the eyes staring at her from afar and judging her voice. No longer would the stage swallow her being, take away her courage, drown her in insecurities. She thought she had a best friend who'd be with her in the thick of things.

That was until she left.

" _ **I don't need you anymore. You're only going to drag me down if I stay with you. If you want to keep singing so badly, go do it by yourself. I'm not helping you anymore."**_

Her body shivered, a cold chill running up her spine at the memory of those words spoken years ago. She tried. She tried so hard to do just that, but it all fell apart.

Samantha thought she was strong enough to do just that. Sing on her own, but she was wrong. She had been so wrong, and even in the end when she was given the opportunity to take her destiny with her own two hands and try again to sing...

She ran from it, taking the easy way out to save herself the pain of dealing with her insecurities.

So, what was her dream now? She'd gotten so far without facing what she needed to that she'd forgotten what was the most important thing.

A drive. What was driving her now that she was a composer? She'd barely written music before. Lyrics for sure, but never actual music notes and composition. What would she be striving to do now that she'd be behind the stage, letting others sing the songs she wanted to sing?

Rummaging again through the box to try and let her thoughts come up with its own answer, Samantha felt her fingers tap a rolled up paper tube. Not sure what it was, Samantha pulled the tube out, removing the elastic band as she did so to unravel the paper. And what she found made her smile. Smile enough that the gross feeling she was having inside her disappeared if only a little.

"Samantha?" Tomochika called, a bit confused at the silence treatment she was getting.

 _'If I need to find something to strive for, maybe this is it? Maybe I could make this dream happen.'_ She thought to herself, smiling at the image her eyes stared at.

Smiling a bit wider, Samantha turned her head slightly over her shoulder to eye her friend, moving on her heel and turning back with the tube in hand. Eyes sparkling a bit with wonder, Samantha shook the tube lightly in her hand towards Tomochika. "This is what I'm striving for."

Being careful to not rip any of the corners or sides of the poster, Samantha slowly unraveled the tube and pulled it bit by bit, until finally the tube of paper was pulled out fully to reveal a poster image of clashing dark colors.

Black, dark navy blue, gold borders around the edges, and sparkles like stars etched the paper in a mysterious and mystifying image. At the center sat a man, his hair dark blue like Samantha's that swept along his face and framed his masculine yet soft features. His clothes matched those of an idol, clean and proper, but held a style specific to the artist himself. Lastly, at the side, the name "HAYATO" spelled in English spread downwards the left side of the poster in between the gold border, showing the artist in his full glory.

"I want to compose music that will touch people's hearts. Make them think about their feelings, understand themselves and others, make them smile. Music like his." Samantha exclaimed with energy, feeling like her body got lighter at her proclamation.

Thankful that her friend had finally given her an answer, Tomochika rested her chin on her pillow and inspected the poster. "Oh! That's Hayato. But, isn't he...you know, more of a comedic idol? He had a debut, but it didn't go anywhere."

Understanding her friend's advice, Samantha's smile softened as she turned the poster image to herself and looked longingly at it. "I know what people say about him, but as silly as it may sound, I admire him.

I've watched his comedy skits ever since I saw them on T.V. when I moved here. I didn't have a lot of friends and I wasn't sure what to do with my time, and I ended up finding his work one morning." Samantha explained, grabbing a few thumb tacks and heading to the wall above her bed.

"I really liked the way he made people smile, gave them energy in the morning. That's how I found out about idols that didn't just sing. He made me smile, and I ended up becoming a fan. So much that I researched more about him. And that's when I found out about his debut and his voice.

It was...breathtaking."

* * *

 _ **-A Few Years Ago-**_

"Hayato...Hayato...let's see what I can find out about him." Samantha muttered, laying down on her bed. Her headphones placed in her ears to better listen to music, she'd been recently swept away by the fun and comedic style of an idol called HAYATO.

He was energetic, bright, funny, and he made her laugh. It was hard enough trying to fit into Japan still for her, so finding something she could relate to and enjoy made her happy, especially since she hadn't found her calling yet. She couldn't think of anything, and it pained her to think that _she'd_ get the last laugh out of all of this.

She didn't want to be a failure. Lost to her own fears and shame. She wouldn't make her mother worry. She wouldn't ruin herself like this.

And this was where her research was coming in. She wanted to know more about the comedic idol. Not from what she saw on television or in any of those gossip magazines that floated around in stores. She wanted to know more about the career and person that was Hayato. His work made her smile, help her get through days she thought she never could. Surely he had to be more than just laughs right?

"A lot of this is about his show. Hm?" Her eyes looking over yet another website showing off his comedy skits, something had caught her attention. "Hayato debut song? He sings?"

Moving the mouse to click on the mp3 track, Samantha adjusted her headphones to make sure they were working before pressing the play button, unsure of what she'd hear at first. "Nanairo Compass? I think that means seven colors or something like that."

And soon, a soft piano melody began to take over her ears.

" _Ah… reaching out to only you,  
The sound of this wind… Feeling heart…"_

Samantha felt her heart jump a little, the once energetic voice of the comedian she was used to hearing singing in a soft whisper, almost like he was right next to her speaking in her ear.

" _Don't cry anymore, you're fine as you are!  
Look at the sky! Ah… My sweetest love!"_

A gasp escaped, warmth enveloping her chest as the lyrics poured out with such sweetness the young girl hadn't expected. _'He's...really good.'_

 _"Blue… The sparkling blue drops trailing down a cheek  
Rise… Did you know? About the light to tomorrow_

 _Truth… You probably still don't know yourself well, huh?  
Those tears will surely become your guiding rainbow!_

 _If your long trail goes cold,  
Ah… I'll warm it with a song!"_

And as the chorus began to pick up in speed with the help of the piano keys, Hayato suddenly burst out a voice filled with so much passion and emotion, Samantha felt like he was in the room, performing right in front of her.

" _All of your prayers may not become stars,"_

Too engrossed in the music she was listening to, Samantha never noticed a tear roll down her cheek as she quietly listened.

" _But if you believe in your dreams,"_

And another. And again they came, yet she never noticed.

 _"They will be thousands of "jewels that shine brightest in the night sky."_

The song sample slowing down to its end, the mp3 finally stopped, turning itself off and leaving Samantha to sit in her room in silence.

Letting the world slowly make its way back to her mind, Samantha's thoughts and sense suddenly sparked alive, the young girl stiffing up straight as she felt a wetness on her cheeks, her eyes also burning a bit.

Moving a hand to slowly reach up to the source, Samantha wiped away the tears that stained her face, wiping each tear she felt was on her cheeks before removing it to stare down at the liquid coating her small digits.

"I'm...crying?" She questioned, unsure if she was seeing this right. However as much as she kept looking, the wetness didn't disappear, and her eyes still burned from her earlier show of emotions.

"Why?"

 _ **-Present-**_

"I fell in love with him...his music, his voice." Samantha nervously spoke, a bit embarrassed at the words she was speaking, thankful her back was turned from Tomochika's eyes. Pressing the last tack onto the corner of her poster, Samantha took a careful step back on her bed and marveled at her work, the poster now pristinely above her bed and crisp in detail for her to see. "I didn't have anything back then. Nothing to call my own, or work towards. I was in a slump and I felt like I was going nowhere. But, Hayato's music brought me out of something I thought I would never escape. And so, I decided after that I wanted to go into music. And maybe, just maybe I'd one day get really good. Good enough that I could meet him. Even make music for him. Or learn from him."

Sighing, Samantha turned back around, careful not to get herself caught in the bed sheets and jumped down to stand next to the taller Tomochika who had walked over to her bed. "I'm...not the best at music. I've never composed anything in my life and I've only just started studying. I know how hard it will be for me at this stage in my life to become the professional Hayato would want to work with, so I want to do my best. I really really want to learn and make music. I guess...that's what I'm striving for in the end. To make this one chance count."

Sighing at the long winded explanation she did, Samantha looked down to the floor. "It probably all sounds really dumb in hindsight. This chance I have is really slim and-"

"Don't say that," Tomochika spoke quickly, cutting Samantha off.

"Eh?" A bit surprised by the sudden words that were spoken by Tomochika, Samantha looked up to her friend and found her brown eyes staring into Tomochika's pink/purple. Redness crept up her face, her cheeks warming up at the very close proximity they were in. "W-What?"

"Don't give up so easily like that," Tomochika spoke, taking a hold of Samantha's shaking hands. Her eyes burning with determination like a flame that didn't want to go out, Tomochika continued, the grip on her hands getting tighter with each word spoken. "Your dream sounds fantastic. You have something that drives you so much. You should be proud of that. Nobody can say so confidently what they want to do with their life like you just did. Be proud of it."

"Tomo..." Samantha muttered, her confusion subsiding and being replaced with a feeling of awe at her friend's advice.

Seeing Samantha lose the confusion in her features, Tomochika smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around the small frame of Samantha. "Time to hug all this bad stuff away!"

"Waaaaaah! T-Tomochika! T-Too tight!" Samantha exclaimed, her heart leaping out of her chest as she was suddenly pulled into a strong hug.

Laughing at the reaction she was getting, Tomochika let her voice slowly die down and stared down at her shorter companion and smiled warmly. "You're going to do great here. I can just feel it. Maybe we'll even get to do make a song together."

Smiling a little at the suggestion, Samantha looked up at her taller friend and felt a wave of relief and calmness wash over her. For as bad as she felt like the situation she was in was, she couldn't help but smile back at her friend who was trying to cheer her up. It's been so long since she'd had a close friend.

Not since...

 _'Leon.'_ Samantha's voice echoed in the back of her mind, reminding her of the girl she once called a friend.

Samantha ignored the thought, a small yet shining smile like a newborn star appearing on her face.

"I'd like that a lot."

* * *

The long talk and heart to heart now long over, the two girls had decided to get back to working on their unpacking. While Samantha focused her efforts on getting all of her school supplies out for the next day, Tomochika had decided to tackle the problem of clothes and drawers first.

And had she complained about how bad that choice had been just a minute after.

"Say, you thirsty after that long talk?" Tomochika asked, now dressed in her pajama's and watching Samantha finish sit at their desk, writing a few composing notes down. "I can head down and get some juice or something."

"I don't really want to be up all night from the sugar...but what the hell, why not?" Samantha replied, smiling a bit as she finished writing another sentence. "Could you see if they have any soda right now? I'm craving a Coke right now."

"Roger that. I'll bring back something else tasty if they don't have it. I'll be back quick." A friendly thumbs up in her roommate's direction, Tomochika headed out, grabbing the doorknob behind her and shutting the door closed.

"Be careful," Samantha spoke quietly, watching Tomochika disappear from the room. "I hope we can get all of this unpacking done by tonight." The composer mused to herself, turning back to her small notebook and scanning over the notes she'd written.

"Meow."

The strange sound filling caught in her eardrums, Samantha looked up from her notes and roamed her eyes around the room for any sign of the noise. "Huh? Was that a meow?"

"Meow."

"There it is again," Samantha noted, continuing her search with her eyes. Having them scan over the balcony of their room, her brown irises went to a halt at the sight of a small form outside.

It...was a cat?

Its fur black like the night, tail casually swishing behind it, and eyes so green that it felt like nature poured out of its irises.

"Uwahh! Kitty cat!" Samantha exclaimed, trying to keep herself still in her seat. Reaching her arms out slowly, the young teen moved her fingers back and forth, trying to get the feline's attention. "C'mere kitty kitty kitty. I not scary. Promise."

Tilting its head just a bit to watch the human girl try to get it to come over, the black cat slowly walked inside, taking a moment to feel the floor below its paws before making its way to Samantha's bed. Jumping in one jump to the top of the mattress, the cat walked over to a pile of handkerchiefs and clothes, taking a small hand towel decorated with Pokemon.

"P-Put that down kitty. That's limited edition." Samantha whined, feeling like her blood ran cold at the sight of her precious Pikachu handkerchief being taken.

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears, for as soon as she got out of her seat, the cat sprang to life and headed out the window, jumping down from the balcony to the ground below.

"No! Come back, please!" Samantha exclaimed, rushing out to the balcony to see where the cat hand ran off too. Seeing as the campus was already darkened as it was, she groaned tiredly and rushed to get her shoes on, heading out her dorm room to the campus below. "It's not been the end of the day and I'm still being tortured!"

Rushing down the nearest pathway she was sure the cat had gone down, Samantha kept taking in deep breaths to keep herself moving, a burning sensation taking over her chest. Maybe this was proof she needed to stop eating so much chocolate and drinking soda...

"Oh, where did you go kitty? I just wanted to pet you and you steal from me instead." Samantha commented, stopping and resting her hands on her knees. Bending down to take in more deep breaths, she finally raised her head up to see where she was but frowned a little at seeing the amount of bushes, grass, and trees in her vicinity.

How...far had she ran?

"Okay. I think I went farther than I planned to go." Scratching her head in confusion, she began to turn on her heels to scan over the trees and the forest-like area she was in. Far off in the distance to the left was a lake that spanned far as her eyes could see, the water sparkling thanks to the light of the moon hanging above her.

Just a bit away too was a small structure, white and carved in marble. A gazebo, a place to shelter away from harsh sunlight or rain. While it wasn't the most beautiful or largest of architecture Samantha had seen on campus, it had its own charm to it.

"Maybe I took a wrong turn at random campus route number four?" Trying to find some form of the cat she was chasing or her lost item, Samantha's gaze fell down to the pathway a few inches away and smiled at the sight of the small character handkerchief. "There it is!"

Rushing over to the fallen cloth, Samantha picked up her lost article and smiled, rubbing the handkerchief to her cheek. "Thank goodness I got you back."

The rustling of nearby bushes made Samantha halt her mini victory, clutching her handkerchief tightly to her chest to help feel some sort of safety.

 _'What was that?'_ She thought to herself, a small seed of fear appearing in her chest. Uncertain to what made the noise, Samantha slowly moved her gaze upward from her handkerchief and looked ahead of her to some bushes.

Rustling came back once again, but not before subsiding and a large form walked out. Their features obscured due to the moonlight missing one section of the small enclosure, the form headed towards a small cliff of the lake and bent down, wanting to take a closer look at the water.

Clouds in the sky departing from the moonbeams blasting through, moonlight escaped the cloudy dark prison and shined down towards the lake and the area around it. The unknown form encapsulated by the moonlight, their features were finally revealed out in the open.

And that form...was a boy. A boy dressed in normal street clothes?

He looked to be Samanthas' age, maybe a year older. He was very tall, perhaps far so much more than she due to his long legs bent towards the lake waters. His skin was a light olive oil tone, slightly lighter than her own, and had short dark blue hair like hers and matching dark eyes like sapphires. His face was angular and cut sharply, his features shaped nicely like a models' and had a distinctive look that made the boy look intimidating, yet also suave and cool.

But as much as he appeared confused her, the looks he had, and the hardened gaze he had at something in the water (perhaps his reflection), there was one thing that dawned on the teens' mind at seeing the newly revealed figure.

She'd seen _that_ face before.

So many times she'd seen that face. The face of a comedic idol, the face of a genius, the face of a true vocal artist.

And most importantly, the face of the person who saved her from a life of negativity, sorrow, and regret.

"H-Hayato." A ghost of a whisper came from her lips, the name feeling foreign to her despite knowing and saying it so many times of the past few years.

How? How was his possible? How was Hayato, a comedic idol genius here of at Saotome Academy of all places? Was this a dream? Was she still asleep in her dorm room? Back at home?

In all the thinking she was doing in those split seconds, Samantha never knew what she was going to get into.


End file.
